Rivals claim victory as Gabon waits for vote results

LIBREVILLE: Gabon’s President Ali Bongo and his only serious rival have both claimed victory in this weekend’s presidential election, and accused each other of cheating.

Barely had the last ballots been cast Saturday evening before the incumbent’s spokesman declared: “Bongo will win... we are already on our way to a second mandate.”

Bongo, 57, has been in power since a disputed election held in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled the oil-rich Central African country for 41 years.

On Sunday, the campaign manager of Bongo’s rival Jean Ping told reporters that the former head of the African Union Commission had won 60 percent of votes counted so far, just under half of the total, against 38 percent for the president.

He also accused Bongo of “trying to push his way through,” with the backing of the army.

“That’s totally crazy,” countered Bongo’s spokesman. “It’s tight, but we are ahead.”

Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya has insisted that only results from the election commission cleared by his ministry had any validity.