section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: On 30 August 2023, a coup d'état occurred in Gabon shortly after the announcement that incumbent president Ali Bongo had won the general election held on 26 August. It was the eighth successful coup to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020.
  
  The coup's leader Brice Oligui Nguema is part of the Bongo family and overthrew his cousin Ali Bongo. The coup brought an end to the 56-year-long rule of the father-and-son duo Omar and Ali Bongo over Gabon. It has been described by some as a palace coup.