Luanda - Gabon was suspended, since this Monday, from the activities of the African Union and its bodies, as well as the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), until it returns to normal constitutional order.
The decision was taken today during the Extraordinary ECCAS Summit, held in the town of Djibloho, in Equatorial Guinea, with the participation of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço.
A note, published on the official facebook page of the Angolan Presidency, states that it was also decided that the ECCAS leadership will be passed on to Equatorial Guinea.
The transfer of the ECCAS presidency from Gabon to Equatorial Guinea takes place within the framework of the organization's statutes, which provide for the vice-president's vacancy to be filled.
The Summit was called following the coup d'état that took place in Gabon on August 30th and which deposed the elected President, Ali Bongo Ondinga.
In the early hours of Wednesday (30), a group of soldiers from the Gabonese army announced a coup d'état, on national local television, following the publication of the results of the general elections in that country.
The deposed Head of State of Gabon had taken up, last February, the rotating leadership of ECCAS, replacing his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi.
The ECCAS was created in Libreville, Gabon, in December 1981, becoming operational only in 1985.
The Community consists of Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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