The European Union observation mission in Gabon said Tuesday it noted an anomaly in voting results from President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s stronghold province that pushed him over the edge to win re-election by a slim margin.
Advertisement
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”.
07 de septiembre de 2016, 10:49Libreville, Sep 7 (Prensa Latina) President of Gabon, Ali Bongo, today rejected a recount of votes in the presidential election on August 27, despite criticism from worldwide observers.
In their analysis, the European Union election monitors said: “The number of non-voters, as well as blank and disqualified votes, reveals a clear anomaly in the final results in Haut-Ogooue”.
Some 800 people have been arrested in recent days in the capital Libreville, with the authorities accusing them of looting, while lawyers say they are being held in “deplorable” conditions.
“I invite the president of the republic to make the wise decision to avoid the useless suffering of the people”, by making public the ballot counts for each bureau, Justice Minister Seraphin Moundounga said on a private television station.
The prime minister said that as a result of that France is demanding a recount of the results.
United Nations human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said on Tuesday the organisation was following the situation in Gabon with “increased concern”.
French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, has requested for a recount of the presidential election results. He was elected in 2009 after the death of his father, longtime ruler Omar Bongo, and protests followed.
One of their main complaints is that Gabon’s ample oil wealth has not been shared fairly among the population. Gabon is a former French colony.
Parliament also resumed, with lawmakers gathering sombrely in the Senate building after part of the National Assembly complex was badly damaged during last week’s protests. He also called on Gabonese authorities to help locate around 15 French nationals it says are missing.
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.
Gabon’s opposition can launch an appeal for a recount through the Constitutional Court, although it has not yet indicated it would do so.
Advertisement
But it has ruled out intervention in Gabon where it has a military base.
