Gabon’s re-elected President Ali Bongo shrugged off global calls for a recount of last week’s disputed vote, saying it was a matter for the constitutional court to decide.
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Bongo has claimed victory by a slender margin of around 6,000 votes, but opposition leader Jean Ping has called a general strike in response to what he says is a fraudulent re-election.
In 2009, Bongo was declared victor of the presidential election following the death of his father, Omar, who had ruled the tiny oil-rich state for 41 years. The opposition says the death toll is much higher.
The opposition party must legally file any complaints by Thursday, eight days after the announcement of the results.
Bongo lashed back on France’s Europe-1 radio Wednesday, saying “Ping committed fraud” in his home constituency and others with the help of “cyber-criminals”.
Ping on Friday declared himself the rightful victor of the vote. The EU noted that would mean only 47 people in the area would not have voted.
On Tuesday, an European Union election observer team reported a “clear anomaly” in voting in Haut-Ogooue province, Bongo’s heartland.
According to the electoral commission, there was a 99.93 percent turnout in that province, with 95 percent voting in favor of Bongo.
The EU observer mission said the number of non-voters and blank or invalid ballots were at variance with the reported participation rate, adding turnout in other regions was around 48 percent.
The AFP news agency says post-election chaos has claimed at least six lives in Gabon, ruled by the Bongo family since 1967.
It is hard to independently verify reports of any deaths in the postelection violence, as the internet in Gabon has been shut off since August 31. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called for a recount [RFI report] on Tuesday and for information concerning 15 French nationals that went missing after the protests. Countries including the US and France have called on Gabon’s government to publish results by individual polling stations.
According to BBC, Mr Bongo was declared the victor by a narrow margin last Wednesday, but the opposition say the poll was fraudulent.
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Meanwhile, a high-level African Union delegation, including heads of state, is ready to be dispatched to Libreville to help calm the situation, AU chairman and Chad President Idriss Deby said. He was elected in 2009 after the death of his father, longtime ruler Omar Bongo, and protests followed. In April, anti-corruption investigators seized several Bongo family properties in France.
