PRETORIA, August 31. /TASS/. Gabon's former Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima said the "bloodless coup" that took place in the country on August 30 is "the lesser evil" for the country.

"One can express satisfaction that yesterday the military intervened in the electoral process and interrupted it, and that it happened without bloodshed," he wrote on Facebook (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as extremist in Russia). "In the current situation of problems with the electoral process, this may be the lesser evil. In democratic regimes, one can hope for political change through elections. This emphasizes impartial institutions with transparent rules. Elections should be based on a legal framework that gives everyone an equal chance of success. This has not been the case in our country in recent years."

Sima also named the conditions for the normalization of political life in the country. He said the transition period should take "a limited period of time and culminate in the adoption of a new constitution, as well as the preparation of everything necessary to hold elections: the voter list, the new administrative division of the country." The military should "blend into the political landscape of the country to establish a new electoral process worthy of a democratic system" and "commit to not participate in the elections themselves."

Senior Gabonese military officers on August 30 announced on national television that they had seized power in the country. The mutineers canceled the results of the August 26 presidential election that installed Ali Bongo Ondimba as president for a third straight term. Mutinous soldiers said he was being held under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors. Generals on August 30 proclaimed Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema as the country’s transitional leader.