Opposition leader Jean Ping had filed a legal challenge after Bongo was declared the victor by a mere 6,000 votes in the August 27 election.
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He also said in an interview with Reuters on Saturday that he “most likely” included leading opposition figures in his new government, adding that “everything is possible”. Officials there showed Bongo winning with almost 96 percent of the vote, and reported that more than 99 percent of all voters had cast ballots.
Gabon opposition leader Jean Ping on Saturday slammed the validation of President Ali Bongo’s election by the country’s Constitutional Court as a “miscarriage of justice”. “(As) president clearly elected by the Gabonese people, I remain at your side to defend your vote and your sovereignty”, Ping said.
Mr Ping, a career diplomat and a former top official at the African Union, had filed a legal challenge earlier this month demanding a recount. 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.
Security forces established check points on the streets, while helicopters overflew the capital city and elite troops were protecting the presidential palace, although there was no violent incidents reported.
The European Union, which sent a monitoring mission to Gabon during the election, said in a statement on Saturday that its observers had been granted “very limited access” to the court review process, and that the Gabonese people had a legitimate right to question the integrity of the electoral process.
Chad’s president, Idriss Deby, the African Union’s current chairman, meanwhile duly noted the court decision and called upon Bongo to create the necessary conditions for fruitful dialogue.
The court had agreed to Ping’s petition to re-examine results in Haut-Ogooue province, where Bongo was declared to have won 95 percent on a turnout of 99.9 percent.
Mr Ping had warned that Gabon could face serious instability if the court rejected his appeal for a recount in that province.
Already the opposition has said that as many as 100 people have been killed while some 1,200 have been detained by authorities as part of a government crackdown on dissent.
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Ali Bongo took over from his father Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 41 years until his death in 2009.
