Gabon election: President Ali Bongo aims for third term - BBC News

The incumbent President Ali Bongo hopes to extend his family's five-decade grip on power.

57 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ali Bongo, 64, has survived a stroke and a coup attemptBy Natasha BootyBBC NewsVoting is under way in the oil-rich central African nation of Gabon where President Ali Bongo - who came to power when his father Omar died in 2009 - is hoping to win a third term.

He faces competition from 13 people.

"Gabon is not the property of the Bongos," says rival candidate Albert Ondo Ossa, who hopes he can lead the Alternance 2023 coalition to victory despite only being appointed last week.

As in previous general elections, there are serious concerns about the process.

Both of Mr Bongo's prior wins were disputed as fraudulent by opponents, and this time around controversial changes have been made to the ballot papers just weeks before election day.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66620070?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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