Data collected on behalf of president shows he was on course to win about 50% of the vote, as new leader announced by coup forces

The president of Gabon, who was ousted in a coup after elections on Saturday, was on course for a modest but clear victory, according to private polling conducted on his behalf.

The polling also showed that Ali Bongo was personally popular, even if his government and advisers were far less so. His ill-health was apparently not seen as a reason for him to stand aside.

Strong desire for change – even if it comes wearing combat fatigues – is feeding Africa’s series of putsches

• Gabon military officers declare coup

The routine is now very familiar: the sudden putsch, the president confined, the nocturnal statement by new, camouflaged rulers. Today it is the turn of Gabon to wake up to find a military coup has brought sudden and unexpected political upheaval in a country that had been considered relatively stable.

On this occasion, the men in uniform introduced themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions. If successful, the coup will be the eighth in west and central Africa since 2020 to lead to a violent – or at least coerced – change in regime. The most recent was last month in Niger.

Seizure of power announced on television, cancelling election results that gave president third term in office

Military officers in Gabon say they have taken power and put the president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, under house arrest, as the country becomes the latest in Africa to suffer an attempted coup, only weeks after mutinous troops seized power in Niger.

A group of military personnel appeared on state television to announce they were seizing power to overturn the results of a presidential election, seeking to remove a president whose family has held power for nearly 56 years. The officers introduced themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions.