Gabon’s Constitutional Court early yesterday upheld Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s victory in last month’s disputed election, raising fears of continued unrest.
The announcement read by court president Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo put an end to the legal avenues available to opposition candidate Jean Ping.
Ping had sought a recount of the votes after provisional results showed him losing by less than 2 percentage points.
The court’s final results indicated that Bongo’s share of the votes was larger than previously announced — 50.66 percent, up from the provisional result of 49.8 percent.
“I will make this victory one for all Gabonese,” Bongo said in a statement.
Ping and his supporters had accused Bongo of vote-rigging, and the EU also expressed concern about some of the results.
EU observers said they did not have full access to all districts in Haut-Ogooue province, where 95 percent of voters were reported to have supported Bongo.
The court rejected those arguments, saying that they did not change the fundamental outcome of the election.
It remained unclear whether Ping’s supporters would accept the court’s finding.
Tensions have spiked in the weeks since the Aug. 27 vote, and the opposition says as many as 100 people have been killed, while 1,200 have been detained.
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