The European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell noted on Thursday that the military coup in Gabon could not be compared to the crisis in Niger, arguing that officers intervened after ousted president Ali Bongo won an unfair election.

"Naturally, military coups are not the solution, but we must not forget that in Gabon there had been elections full of irregularities," he said, arguing a rigged vote could amount to a civilian "institutional coup".

Borrell made this known while speaking ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, were they are to discuss how to help west Africa's ECOWAS regional group handle the July 26 military takeover in Niger.

The former Spanish foreign minister and now top EU diplomat, said European diplomats were working to mediate the crisis in Gabon and that there were no plans to evacuate, as they had in Niger.

"In Gabon, hours before the military coup, it was an institutional coup, because the elections were stolen,"  "I cannot say that Gabon was a full democracy -- with a family ruling the country for the last 50 years." he alleged.

The foreign policy chief added that the meeting in the Spanish city of Toledo was to be attended by ECOWAS chairman President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria and the foreign minister of the ousted Niger civilian government, Borrell said.

He also noted that the EU and ECOWAS both opposed the Niger military's overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum, but Borrell argued that the similar dramatic events in Gabon were not comparable.

In Gabon, the military intervened after President  Ali Bongo claimed victory in the election, naming the head of the Republican Guard, General Brice Oligui Nguema, "transitional president" in his place.

Similarly, the African Union condemned this latest coup, as Nigeria expressed alarm over "contagious autocracy" following the similar events in Niger and Mali.