PRETORIA, August 30. /TASS/. The military officers who took power in Gabon will choose a leader before the end of the day, Republican Guard head General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema told the French newspaper Le Monde.

According to him, Gabonese generals will hold a meeting later on Wednesday to decide who will rule the country during the transitional period.

Earlier, a group of high-ranking officers in the Gabonese armed forces announced on state television that they had taken power in the country. The rebels consist of officers serving in the Central African nation’s security forces, armed forces and police, as well as members of the national guard and presidential guard. The results of the presidential vote that incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won were canceled. The military said that the president was under house arrest "surrounded by his family and doctors."