The controversial re-election of President Ali Bongo in August 2016 by just a few thousand votes led opposition leader Jean Ping to claim that victory had been stolen from him.

LIBREVILLE - Oil-rich Gabon, ruled by the same political dynasty for nearly half a century, votes Saturday in long-delayed legislative and municipal polls after a presidential election two years ago that was marred by deadly violence and allegations of fraud.

The controversial re-election of President Ali Bongo in August 2016 by just a few thousand votes led opposition leader Jean Ping to claim that victory had been stolen from him.

Violence broke out and dozens of people were killed according to the opposition, but the government says only four died.

Ping's headquarters was bombed and the opposition also claimed that widespread human rights abuses were committed by armed militias that took to the streets.

But ahead of this weekend's vote, pushed back three times since 2016, the campaign was low key.

Posters dotted the capital Libreville asking the country's 680,000 voters to turn up to elect 143 new MPs as well as other local officials.

'TORN BY CRISIS'

Political divisions run deep in the equatorial African nation, ruled by Omar Bongo since 1967 and by his son Ali after Bongo's death in 2009.

And Gabon's oil-dependent economy has been hit by falling crude prices.

"I am not sure that this election will ease tensions because since 2016, the country has been torn by a crisis that has divided families and changed the political scenario," said political expert Wilson Andre Ndombet.

The opposition, which rallied around Ping in 2016, is now fractured, easing the way for the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) which too is facing party in-fighting.

Ping, a veteran diplomat who once headed the African Union Commission and held senior UN posts and describes himself as the elected president, has so far not commented on Saturday's election.

He was a stalwart in Omar Bongo's government.

Some opposition parties have called for a boycott but the others are contesting the vote.

"There is no real opposition in Gabon," said Gabin Yalanzele from the ruling PDG.

A supporter of a party of an opposition figure who has now entered the government, said he was not given money to hand out to people who turned up for election rallies but added: "We simply offer free T-shirts or a meal."

"The party in power certainly has access to some facilities but there are opposition figures who are rich and who just stall the country's progress," said Chadi Moukarim, who is second on the list for a local seat in Libreville.

A Libreville resident, who identified himself as just Steven, said the ruling party and the opposition were "buying consciences" with T-shirts and other goodies.

"The electoral process has always been biased," said Ndombet, adding that "officials manning voting stations were bought" by the ruling party.

The government has said it will close the country's borders on polling day and ban alcohol sales on the eve of the vote and throughout Saturday.</s>Gabon votes for first time since violence-marred 2016 election

LIBREVILLE: Oil-rich Gabon, ruled by the same political dynasty for nearly half a century, started voting Saturday in long-delayed legislative and municipal polls, the first since a presidential election two years ago that was marred by deadly violence and allegations of fraud.

A divided opposition is unlikely to mount a successful challenge to President Ali Bongo’s ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), polls suggest. His key rival, Jean Ping, is boycotting the election, but most other opposition groups entered the contest.

Most polling stations in the capital Libreville opened at 8.00 am (0700 GMT) under grey skies and light rain.

An early voter, 53-year old shopkeeper Stanislas Bidoubi, told AFP he was backing an opposition party. “I want change in my country,” he said.

Posters dotted Libreville asking the country’s 680,000 voters to turn up to elect 143 new MPs as well as other local officials. Turnout in Gabon elections is usually low, but early queues pointed to lively voter interest, at least in the centre of the capital.

“I’ve never missed an election,” said 52-year-old Rainatou Wagne. “Even if there’s cheating in every African election, as a Gabonese citizen I prefer to vote,” she said.

The controversial re-election of Bongo in August 2016 by just a few thousand votes led Ping to claim that victory had been stolen from him. Violence broke out and dozens of people were killed according to the opposition, but the government says only four died. Ping’s headquarters was bombed and the opposition also claimed that widespread human rights abuses were committed by armed militias that took to the streets.

Ahead of this weekend’s vote, pushed back three times since 2016, the campaign was low key. But on Saturday, some opposition candidates were pointing to alleged irregularities, saying that voting papers had gone missing, there had been attempts to buy votes, and their representatives had been denied access.

Political divisions run deep in the equatorial African nation, ruled by Omar Bongo from 1967 until his death in 2009, when his son Ali took over. And Gabon’s oil-dependent economy has been hit by falling crude prices.</s>Oil-rich Gabon, ruled by the same political dynasty for nearly half a century, started voting Saturday in long-delayed legislative and municipal polls, the first since a presidential election two years ago that was marred by deadly violence and allegations of fraud.

A divided opposition is unlikely to mount a successful challenge to President Ali Bongo's ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), polls suggest.

His key rival, Jean Ping, is boycotting the election, but most other opposition groups entered the contest.

Most polling stations in the capital Libreville opened at 8.00 am (0700 GMT) under grey skies and light rain.

An early voter, 53-year old shopkeeper Stanislas Bidoubi, told AFP he was backing an opposition party.

"I want change in my country," he said.

Posters dotted Libreville asking the country's 680,000 voters to turn up to elect 143 new MPs as well as other local officials.

Turnout in Gabon elections is usually low, but early queues pointed to lively voter interest, at least in the centre of the capital.

"I've never missed an election," said 52-year-old Rainatou Wagne. "Even if there's cheating in every African election, as a Gabonese citizen I prefer to vote," she said.

The controversial re-election of Bongo in August 2016 by just a few thousand votes led Ping to claim that victory had been stolen from him.

Violence broke out and dozens of people were killed according to the opposition, but the government says only four died.

Ping's headquarters was bombed and the opposition also claimed that widespread human rights abuses were committed by armed militias that took to the streets.

Ahead of this weekend's vote, pushed back three times since 2016, the campaign was low key.

But on Saturday, some opposition candidates were pointing to alleged irregularities, saying that voting papers had gone missing, there had been attempts to buy votes, and their representatives had been denied access.

Political divisions run deep in the equatorial African nation, ruled by Omar Bongo from 1967 until his death in 2009, when his son Ali took over.

And Gabon's oil-dependent economy has been hit by falling crude prices.

"I am not sure that this election will ease tensions because since 2016, the country has been torn by a crisis that has divided families and changed the political scenario," said political expert Wilson Andre Ndombet.

The opposition, which rallied around Ping in 2016, is now fractured, easing the way for the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) which, however, is also facing party in-fighting.

Ping, a veteran diplomat who once headed the African Union Commission and has held senior UN posts, was a stalwart in Omar Bongo's government.

"There is no real opposition in Gabon," said Gabin Yalanzele from the ruling PDG ahead of polling day.

A Libreville resident, who identified himself as Steven, said before the vote that the ruling party and the opposition were "buying consciences" with T-shirts and other goodies.

A supporter of a party of an opposition figure who has now entered the government, meanwhile said he was not given money to hand out to people who turned up for election rallies but added: "We simply offer free T-shirts or a meal."

"The party in power certainly has access to some facilities but there are opposition figures who are rich and who just stall the country's progress," said Chadi Moukarim, who is second on the list for a local seat in Libreville.

"The electoral process has always been biased," said Ndombet, adding that "officials manning voting stations were bought" by the ruling party.

The government closed the country's borders on polling day and banned alcohol sales until the end of voting.</s>People in Gabon are voting in long-delayed legislative and municipal polls, the first to be held since a presidential election two years ago marred by deadly violence and fraud allegations.

Most polling stations in the capital Libreville opened at 8:00am local time (07:00 GMT) under grey skies and light rain on Saturday.

Posters around Libreville were seen asking the country's 680,000 voters to turn up to elect 143 new MPs, as well as other local officials.

A divided opposition is unlikely to mount a successful challenge to President Ali Bongo's ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), opinion polls suggest. His key rival, Jean Ping, is boycotting the election, but most other opposition groups entered the contest in the oil-rich West African country.

Stanislas Bidoubi, 53-year-old shopkeeper, told the AFP news agency that he was backing an opposition party.

"I want change in my country," said Bidoubi.

Turnout in Gabon elections is usually low, but early queues pointed to lively voter interest, at least in the centre of the capital.

"I've never missed an election," said Rainatou Wagne.

"Even if there's cheating in every African election, as a Gabonese citizen I prefer to vote," she added.

The Bongo family has ruled Gabon for close to half a century and his controversial re-election in August 2016 by just a few thousand votes led Ping to claim that victory had been stolen from him.

Violence broke out and dozens of people were killed, according to the opposition, but the government says only four died.

Ping's headquarters was bombed and the opposition also claimed that widespread human rights abuses were committed by armed men who took to the streets.

Before Saturday's election that has been pushed back three times since 2016, the campaign was low key.

But on Saturday, some opposition candidates were pointing to alleged irregularities, saying that voting papers had gone missing, there had been attempts to buy votes, and their representatives had been denied access.

Political divisions run deep in the equatorial African nation, ruled by Omar Bongo from 1967 until his death in 2009, when his son Ali took over.

"I am not sure that this election will ease tensions because, since 2016, the country has been torn by a crisis that has divided families and changed the political scenario," Wilson Andre Ndombet, a political analyst, said.</s>Libreville — Oil-rich Gabon, ruled by one political dynasty for nearly half a century, votes on Saturday in long-delayed legislative and municipal polls after a presidential election two years ago was marred by fatal violence and allegations of fraud.

After President Ali Bongo was re-elected controversially in August 2016 by just a few thousand votes, opposition leader Jean Ping claimed that victory had been stolen from him. Violence broke out and dozens of people were killed, according to the opposition, but the government says only four died.

Ping’s headquarters was bombed, and the opposition also claimed that widespread human rights abuses were committed by militias that took to the streets. However, ahead of this weekend’s vote, pushed back three times since 2016, the campaign was low key. Posters dotted the capital Libreville, calling on the country’s 680,000 voters to turn up to elect 143 new MPs and other local politicians.

Gabon’s oil-dependent economy has been hit by falling crude prices.

The opposition, which rallied around Ping in 2016, is now fractured, easing the way for the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party.</s>President Ali Bongo's ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) has won a legislative election by a landslide in the first round, the presidency said.

"We have observed what looks like a landslide in favour of the [ruling] majority," presidential spokesman Ike Ngouoni said on Sunday, citing results posted publicly at voting stations.

He said the PDG had won 80 of the 143 seats in the national parliament.

Ngouoni said turnout was "relatively weak".

The presidential spokesman said the electoral authority would announce definitive results later Sunday or on Monday.

Some opposition candidates and witnesses who spoke to the AFP news agency at polling stations alleged voting irregularities.

They said voting papers had gone missing, there had been attempts to buy votes, and opposition representatives had been denied access.

Voting took place in the oil-rich West African country on Saturday in a long-delayed legislative and municipal election, the first poll to be held since a presidential election two years ago was marred by deadly violence and fraud allegations.

President Bongo's key rival, Jean Ping, boycotted the election, but most opposition groups took part.

Gabon has been ruled by the same political dynasty for nearly half a century.
After long delays, voters in Gabon head to the polls for the first time since the controversial 2016 presidential election.