Rivals claim victory as Gabon waits for poll result

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.

Yesterday, the campaign manager of Bongo’s rival Jean Ping told reporters that the former head of the African Union Commission had won 60 per cent of votes counted so far, just under half of the total, against 38 per cent 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.”

All of this was said in defiance of Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya, who has insisted only results from the election commission validated by his ministry had any validity.

Before polling began Boubeya said everything was “in place to guarantee a transparent and impartial election”.

The poll will be decided by a simple majority and results are expected today.

African Union and the European Union observers said that aside from some delays, the poll itself, in which some 628,000 people were eligible vote, passed off without serious incident.