Gabon’s government deployed a heavy security presence in the capital Libreville on Saturday in an attempt to head off potential unrest following a Constitutional Court ruling certifying the election victory of President Ali Bongo.
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Gabon’s government was placed under renewed global pressure when the European Union complained on Saturday that its elections observer mission had been granted “very limited access” to the court’s review of results.
“I will not retreat”.
The court, while partially changing the results of the close August 27 vote, said Bongo maintained a lead over his former ally-turned-opponent Ping.
At a televised public hearing overnight in Libreville, in an nearly empty room, the court said Bongo had taken 50.66% of the vote against 47.24% for Ping.
“When we come out of an election and families are having to mourn their dead, it means we’ve betrayed democracy”, Bongo told a crowd of supporters, who celebrated the ruling by singing Gabon’s national anthem.
He called on all those who continued to contest the result to “refrain from violence and to pursue their claims in ways that do not affect the country’s peace and wellbeing”.
The court, in a ruling broadcast on state TV around midnight on Friday, declared the request by opposition leader Jean Ping invalid on technical grounds.
Mr Ping had warned that Gabon could face serious instability if the court rejected his appeal for a recount in that province. Following the court ruling, President Bongo called for a “political dialogue” with the opposition.Correspondents say residents of Libreville were stockpiling food ahead of the court ruling.
President Bongo won August’s election by just 6,000 votes but the opposition says the poll was rigged. The reelected president won with 50.66 percent of the votes, faced with 47.24 percent won by Ping.
During the ensuing chaos, demonstrators set fire to the parliament and clashed violently with police, who arrested around 1,000 people.
Earlier this month, European Union observers cited an “obvious anomaly” in election results in Bongo’s home district, and said all results from that province were “consequently compromised”.
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In his legal challenge to the election result that was rejected by the court, Ping had demanded a vote recount in the Bongo family’s Haut-Ogooue stronghold.
