(3 minutes read)
Voters in Gabon began heading to the polls today (Saturday 26th August 2023) to elect a new president, lawmakers, and local councils. The opposition politicians hope it will break the Bongo family’s grip on power for more than five decades. Incumbent President Ali Bongo is seeking a third term. He has been the leader of the country since 2009. Before that, his father led the oil-rich Central African country.
Voters in Gabon began heading to the polls Saturday to elect a new president, lawmakers, and local councils that opposition politicians hope will break the Bongo family’s grip on power for more than five decades. Incumbent President Ali Bongo is seeking a third term. He has been the leader of the country since 2009. Before that, his father led the oil-rich Central African country.
The recently united opposition, however, hopes to foil Bongo’s bid for a third term and end his family’s 55-year grip on power. Six of the main opposition parties have backed main rival Albert Ondo Ossa in an effort to narrow the race to unseat Bongo.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/gabon-reduces-presidential-term-of-office-to-five-years/
https://trendsnafrica.com/macrons-five-day-visit-to-central-africa-begins-gabon-first-port-of-call/
Voting was supposed to get underway at 8 a.m. local time (0700 GMT), although several polling stations in the capital Libreville saw significant delays, according to the news agency Reuters.
Social media posts suggested ballots had been cast on time in some areas, but others noted their polling stations were still closed after 8 a.m. Some 850,000 are eligible to vote. Polls are set to close at 6 p.m.
