Gabon opposition candidate decries high court ruling

Gabon’s Constitutional Court upheld President Ali Bongo’s victory in elections last month, following a complaint by the opposition that a recount was needed because the outcome had been rigged.

Bongo was declared victor of the August 27 election by a wafer-thin margin of less than 6,000 votes, an announcement which sparked several days of violent protests.

“I will not retreat”.

Bongo’s ruling Gabonese Democratic Party said Ping’s challenge will not detract from the president’s victory.

Bongo’s allies submitted evidence to the court rejecting Ping’s allegations and countering that the opposition leader – a former chairman of the African Union commission – had himself organized fraud.

Many tally sheets, it said, were illegible.

Six died in riots that caused major damage in the capital, Libreville, and elsewhere in the country of some 1.8 million people.

The decision had been read late on Friday night in an nearly empty court chamber.

“I call all political leaders, including the defeated candidates in the August 27 election, for a political dialogue”, Bongo said in a speech broadcast on television.

Gabon’s constitutional court is to rule as early as Friday who will be the country’s next president, ending weeks of uncertainty after disputed polls sparked a political crisis and violent protests.

“2016 will not be 2009”, Ping told supporters, referring to the contentious election that first brought Bongo to power seven years ago.

The late Omar Bongo ruled the country for more than four decades, and was accused of siphoning off oil profits to enrich his family and associates.

The nation erupted in protest after Bongo was declared the victor following an election mired in allegations of fraud.

During the ensuing chaos, demonstrators set fire to the parliament and clashed violently with police, who arrested around a thousand people.

Worldwide observers had raised doubts about results in one Bongo stronghold where he won 95 percent of the vote and turnout was reported to be 99.9 percent.

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.