Two people have been reportedly killed, and many injured in a wave of violence that has spread across Gabon since the declaration of President Ali Bongo as winner of Saturday’s presidential election.
The election result, announced on Wednesday afternoon, gave Bongo a second seven-year term with 49.8% of the vote to Ping’s 48.2% – a margin of 5,594 votes.
Bongo took power in 2009 on the death of his father, who had ruled for 42 years.
Ping has rejected the result, accusing security forces of hounding his supporters. He called for international assistance to protect the 1.8 million population of the oil-producing state.
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“Everybody knows that I won the election,” Ping told Reuters, adding that the electoral commission’s figures were based on false documents.
“The (Bongo) family are repeating the same scenario for almost half a century. The opposition can win the elections but they have never had access to power… We need assistance from the rest of the world to protect the population of Gabon from a clan of mercenaries, a rogue state.”
Opposition supporters greeted the election result with anger.
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Demonstrators in the capital Libreville clashed with police and set part of the parliament building on fire. It burnt for hours before being extinguished.
On Thursday, there were fresh clashes in the impoverished Nkembo neighborhood near the center of the capital.
Gunfire and explosions could be heard, witnesses told Reuters, which said it could not immediately reach a government spokesman for comment.
France is Gabon’s former colonial power and retains strong economic and cultural links.
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The US and EU have also called for the results to be made public while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged calm.
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