He said he had no faith in the constitutional court because it was tied to the Bongo family and he wanted a recount done under worldwide supervision before any appeal to that court.
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“I can not violate the (electoral) law”, he insisted.
France had joined the European Union and the USA in calling for the results to be published according to each polling station but, until now, had stopped short of demanding a recount. Ping rejected the result and called for a general strike following a heavy-handed crackdown by security forces that left at least three people dead.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls suggested on Tuesday that a recount of the vote would be wise.
President Bongo came under worldwide scrutiny on Tuesday, as a European Union mission questioned the validity of his narrow win, France recommended a recount and the African Union said it would send mediators.
Ping, a former diplomat, said he had no faith in the constitutional court, the highest legal body that can rule on an election, and said any recount should take place under worldwide supervision.
Gabon’s Justice Minister Seraphim Moundounga resigned from his post on Monday amid mass protests concerning last week’s disputed presidential election results.
But his appeal appeared to go largely unheeded in the capital Libreville on Tuesday like the previous day when banks and shops re-opened after being shuttered since last week due to post-election violence, and taxis returned to the streets.
Bongo dismissed a toll of between 50 and 100 dead given by Ping’s camp as “fanciful” but said that “around 100” had been hurt in the violence.
There have been more than 800 arrests and France says several people with dual French-Gabonese citizenship remain unaccounted for.
Sarah Crozier, from the European Union team, said observers noted a much lower turnout nationally than was recorded in Mr Bongo’s political base and that tabulations from his province showed anomalies for those who had not voted as well as the number of votes that were void.
Gabon’s re-elected President Ali Bongo shrugged off worldwide calls for a recount of last week’s disputed vote, saying it was a matter for the constitutional court to decide.
“It is an urgent matter and I expect the high-level delegation to be dispatched very soon”, AU spokesman Jacob Enoh Eben said on Tuesday.
Chadian President Idriss Deby, current Chairman of the Union, said on Tuesday in Addis Ababa that this move has become imperative because he has continued to follow, with renewed attention, the evolution of the situation in Gabon.
But it has ruled out intervention in Gabon where it has a military base.
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The minister is asking President Bongo to recount the vote and publicize the vote counts for each bureau. “We slept in our pee”, said a man who asked that his name be given as Matthieu to protect his identity.
