Security forces and demonstrators clashed in Gabon yesterday after the son of the late ruler, Omar Bongo, was declared the winner of a disputed presidential election.
Within hours of the announcement that Ali Ben Bongo, a former Defence Minister, had won with 42 per cent of the vote, riot police fired teargas and used batons as they waded into crowds in Libreville, the capital of the West African state.
Soldiers took to the streets in the oil city of Port Gentil after rioters set the French consulate on fire, claiming that France, the former colonial power, had manipulated the result in favour of the son of one of its closest allies in Africa. Rioters also freed several hundred inmates at a prison.
As crowds roamed the streets of Libreville chanting “Death to the whites”, France advised its estimated 10,000 nationals living in Gabon to stay indoors.
“I want to be President of all the Gabonese,” Mr Bongo, 50, said on the television network TeleAfrica, which is owned by his family. His nearest rival won 25 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s poll.
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Mr Bongo, whose father ruled the oil-rich nation for four decades before his death in June, was always the favourite to win. However, he faced a stronger than expected challenge from Andr? Mba Obame, a former Interior Minister and long-time opponent of his father, and Pierre Mamboundou, one of the few candidates who was not linked to the regime.
All three declared victory this week. The announcement of the final result was delayed after election officials said that they had had problems verifying ballot papers.
The election was mainly peaceful but tense, with queues of voters waiting to choose a successor to the longest-serving African leader who dominated every aspect of his country’s life. Banknotes bore Mr Bongo’s portrait and he lent his name to airports, boulevards and universities — as well as the village of his birth, which was renamed Bongoville.
The late President was one of the richest men in the world. He owned several properties in France and was an ally of Paris, which played a key role in maintaining French influence in Central Africa.
France enjoyed several favourable oil and other business concessions. In return it kept quiet about the President’s profligacy and allegations of rights abuses that were attracting criticism from activists in a country where the majority of its 1.4 million population are poor.
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Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, said that he had been in contact will all three main contenders and was monitoring the situation. “I hope that they will come to an arrangement, as they always have in Gabon,” he said.
Fathers and sons
? Joseph Kabila took over as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2001 ten days after the assassination of his father Laurent-D?sir? Kabila, the previous President
? Faure Essozimma Gnassingb? took over the presidency of Togo in 2005 after the death of his father, President Gnassingb? Eyadema, who had been known for his entourage of 1,000 dancing girls.
? Eyadema passed on the mantle of Africa’s longest-serving leader to Omar Bongo, who has been succeeded by his son Ali Ben
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? Perhaps next to inherit a presidency is Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the now longest-serving leader in Africa, Muammar Gaddafi, who is said to be grooming Saif al-Islam to lead Libya
Source: Times database