Chad's president set to mediate in disputed Gabon election

An African strongman accused of rigging elections in his own country is preparing to mediate between the two sides contesting the result of last week’s poll in Gabon.

Chad’s president, Idriss Déby, who has ruled his country for 26 years, is expected to lead an African Union delegation that is preparing to go to Libreville to try to resolve the crisis.

Both sides claimed victory, and post-election clashes between protesters and Gabon’s security forces have left up to 100 people dead, according to the opposition. Hundreds of people been have arrested, the national parliament was torched and the opposition headquarters stormed.

Ali Bongo, the incumbent whose family has ruled Gabon for half a century, was declared the winner by a margin of only 5,000 votes. The opposition pointed out that the purported result in Haut-Ogooué, Bongo’s home region, was impossible. The national electoral commission claimed that more than 99.9% of voters turned out to vote in the region, and 95% of them voted for Bongo – a result described as a “clear anomaly” by EU observers on Tuesday.

The leader of the opposition, Jean Ping, a former foreign minister under Ali Bongo’s father, Omar, saidhe had won days before the election results were released. His spokesman said that between 50 and 100 people had been killed in the violence – far more than the three dead mentioned by the interior minister on Monday.
 

Gabon’s justice minister resigned from the government and the party on Tuesday, calling for a recount of the vote and saying it amounted to “almost pushing people to revolt” not to do so.

“I invite the president of the republic to make the wise decision to avoid the useless suffering of the people,” said Séraphin Moundounga, who for years has been close to the Bongos, warning that peace in Gabon was at stake.

France’s prime minister, Manuel Valls, also called for a recount, saying that it “would be wise” and would help clarify the situation.

Opinions in France, however, are not likely to be paid much attention in Gabon. When France’s ruling socialist party said early on that Ping appeared to be the winner, Bongo’s spokesman advised it to “respect our sovereignty” and characterised the “interference” as an extension of “Francafrique” – a word denoting past shady dealings between France and its former African colonies. Omar Bongo was known as a “pillar of Francafrique”.

France, the EU and the US previously called for results from each individual polling station to be released, something that Bongo refused to do.
 

Ping is a former chair of the African Union commission, and in that role he stayed silent when several countries on the continent, including Sudan and Zimbabwe, dealt with rigged elections.

Thus he may recognise the approach of the AU’s delegation, comprising African heads of state, representatives of the AU commission and the UN, which is set to travel to Libreville “if the conditions are met”. It is not known what these conditions are. The talks to find a solution will most likely be led by Déby, its spokesman said.

Déby, the current AU chair, was sworn in for his fifth term as president of Chad last month, extending his 26-year rule amid accusations of rigging, intimidation and holding “the whole country hostage”, according to Saleh Kebzabo, his nearest challenger. Opposition activists said they had opened a case of high treason against Déby at the country’s supreme court.