World
Gabon opposition asks coup leaders to recognize it won election
Gabon’s main opposition Thursday urged military leaders who have overthrown President Ali Bongo Ondimba to conclude the vote count from elections last weekend and acknowledge their candidate had won the disputed poll.
The Alternance 2023 coalition also said it was inviting the security forces to take part in discussions “In order to work out the situation within a patriotic and responsible framework.”
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Alliance spokesman Mike Jocktane told reporters that members of the security forces had been deployed at every polling station and overseen the transporting of ballot boxes.
As such, they were the “first witnesses” of main opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa’s “clear victory,” he said.
The coup announcement early Wednesday came just moments after the national election overseer declared Bongo had won a third term with 64.27 percent of the vote.
Ondo Ossa won 30.77 percent, it said.
Ahead of the declared results, the university professor had angrily accused Bongo of “fraud” and demanded he hand over power “without bloodshed.”
Jocktane also thanked the army on behalf of a “grateful homeland” for standing up to an “electoral coup d’etat” and sparing the country loss of life.
He invited the army to “supervise” the resumption of the collating process of results from the presidential vote which he said would “see Mr. Ondo Ossa’s victory at the ballot box formalized.”
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