By Enyichukwu Enemanna
French media outlets RFI and France 24 have expressed what it called “incomprehension” following the ban on their operations in Gabon after the conclusion of the country’s presidential election.
In the evening of Saturday when the polls took place, the communication authority announced “the provisional ban on the broadcasting in Gabon of France 24, RFI and TV5 Monde”.
The authorities accused them of “a lack of objectivity and balance… in connection with the current general elections”.
The government equally announced the disconnection of the internet on Saturday evening, which was followed by a curfew over the risk of violence as voting was coming to an end in an election between incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba who is seeking a third term in office and his main opponent, Albert Ondo Ossa.
Opposition had earlier expressed concern over the way the election was being conducted, calling it a “fraud orchestrated by Ali Bongo and his supporters”.
In a statement on Sunday, France Medias Monde, the parent company of RFI and France 24, said it “regrets and is surprised by this provisional suspension, which lacks foundation,” adding that it “deprives the Gabonese of two of their main sources of reliable and independent information”.
The elections in Gabon presidential, legislative and municipal have gone ahead without the presence of election observers.
Bongo, the scion of a family that has ruled for 55 years is believed to behind the withdrawal of operational licenses of the media organisations.
His main challenger, Onda Ossa a 69-year-old economics professor who served as a minister under Bongo from 2006 to 2009 was picked as a consensus candidate by the opposition coalition.
Paris-based media rights campaigners Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the restriction of foreign journalists who were covering the election.
