By Ebi Kesiena
Gabon’s government has announced a nationwide curfew and has cut off internet access, as voting in major national elections was wrapping up late Saturday.
According to the nation’s communications minister, Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou, there would be a nightly curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
He stated that internet access was being restricted indefinitely, saying there had been calls for violence and the spreading of disinformation.
The announcement came after voters cast ballots to elect new local leaders, national legislators and Gabon’s next president.
At that moment, Incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba is seeking a third seven-year term and to continue a 55-year political dynasty. Bongo came to power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for 41 years.
Bongo, 64, won his current term in office by a narrow margin in 2016 amid violent protests. This year, the opposition united in favor of his main challenger, economics professor Albert Ondo Ossa, one week before Saturday’s elections.
About 847,000 people were eligible to cast ballots Saturday.
However, voters in Libreville, Gabon’s capital, complained of polling stations opening late. Voting was scheduled to begin in the morning, but many election sites had failed to open as of 2 p.m.
“I’ve never seen an election in Gabon that doesn’t start before 10 o’clock. It’s really sad. I’m going home,” said Théophile Obiang, a pensioner leaning on his cane.
Although, authorities did not explain the reasons for the delays or indicate when results would be announced.
“Voters must benefit from the 10-hour period provided for by electoral law,” said Paulette Missambo, who withdrew from the presidential race in favor of Ossa, an independent candidate.
Ossa’s platform revolves around breaking Gabon out of the status quo. He said that if elected, he would dissolve the National Assembly, redraw the electoral map and organize a new legislative election, with a goal of forming a government committed to addressing economic inequality.
Regrettably, according to official figures, every vote held in Gabon since the country’s return to a multi-party system in 1990 has ended in violence clashes between government forces and protesters following the 2016 elections that killed four people.
