A group of senior Gabonese military officers have appeared on national television declaring they have seized power, claiming the recent general election lacks credibility and saying they represent all Gabon’s security and defence forces.

They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved. Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital, Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after the television appearance.

It was not immediately possible to reach the government for comment.

“In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” the officers said on television.

Gabon’s incumbent president, Ali Bongo, won a third term in the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote, the Gabonese election centre said on Wednesday, after a delay-plagued general election that the opposition denounced as fraudulent.

Announcing the result in the early hours, the elections head, Michel Stephane Bonda, said Bongo’s main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, came second with 30.77%. Bongo’s team rejected Ondo Ossa’s allegations of electoral irregularities.