Internet access was cut and a nightly curfew was announced in Gabon Saturday, August 26, as polling stations closed in triple election, in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, scion of a family that has ruled for 55 years, sought victory over a newly united opposition.
Bongo and his main rival Albert Ondo Ossa lead a race of 14 candidates vying for the top job in the small oil-rich central African state, in an election the opposition claimed was hit by organisational "chaos". The 64-year-old incumbent Bongo took office in 2009, succeeding his father Omar, who died after more than 41 years in power.
Onda Ossa – a 69-year-old economics professor who served as a minister under Bongo from 2006 to 2009 – was chosen by the main opposition grouping, Alternance 2023, as its joint candidate just eight days before the election.
After polls closed, the government announced that internet would be suspended until further notice, and said it was imposing a nightly 7:00 pm-6:00 am curfew from Sunday August 27. Communications Minister Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou said on public television that the move was necessary to "counter the spread of calls for violence...and false information".
After polls closed, the Bongo government of deliberately creating a disorganised election. Onda Ossa's team said he was only able to cast his vote after his polling station opened eight hours behind schedule.
Earlier Saturday, the polling station in the centre of Libreville was apparently due to an absence of voting equipment.
Francois Ndong Obiang, president of Alternance 2023, told AFP many others had experienced similar delays. He also claimed that ballots listing Ondo Ossa's name were missing in some polling stations, and criticised authorities for creating "chaos". Ondo Ossa said in a live video on the Facebook page of Alternance 2023 that Bongo had increased the "elements of fraud".
Francois Ndong Obiang, president of Alternance 2023, told AFP many others had experienced similar delays. He also claimed that ballots listing Ondo Ossa's name were missing in some polling stations, and criticized authorities did not comment when contacted by AFP, but a special advisor to the president said on X, formerly Twitter, that the "fake news machines" were running at "full speed".