Elections have started in Gabon, a country in Central Africa known for its oil reserves. The current President, Ali Bongo, is seeking re-election for a third term after taking over from his late father in 2009.
He has to compete against 13 other people.
Albert Ondo Ossa, a candidate running against the Bongos in Gabon, believes that Gabon does not belong solely to the Bongos. He hopes to win the election with the help of the Alternance 2023 coalition, even though he was only chosen as their leader last week.
As in previous elections, individuals express concerns about the methods employed.
Mr Bongo’s previous wins were challenged by his opponents who claimed they were fraudulent. In addition, there have been controversial alterations to the ballot papers just a few weeks before the election day.
This is the first time that voters are being asked to choose both a president and a member of parliament who belong to the same party, and they just need to mark their choice on one ballot.
Experts say that independent candidates,especially Mr Ondo Ossa from the opposition Alternance 2023 alliance, are at a disadvantage because they don’t have their own political party.
Albert Ondo Ossa, who is 69yearsold, is a highly regarded person who used to work as a government official in charge of education.
Reporters Without Borders, a campaign group, says that foreign media are not allowed to enter the country and report on the vote happening on Saturday.
There won’t be any election monitors from the EU or UN.
The local civil society group, Tournons La Page,plans to observe and monitor despite not having official approval.
Before the vote on Saturday, there was a big argument. President Bongo accused Mr. Ondo Ossa and another opposition leader of committing treason.
The two people say that the accusations of them planning to create a fight for power in Gabon and getting help from other countries are not true. They also said that the government is tricking people and behaving in a bad way. They made this statement through Alternance 2023.
In addition to voting for the president and MPs, the people in Gabon are also voting for mayors and local councillors.
Gabon has about 2. 3 million people who live there. It has lots of oil and big areas of rain forest.
However, the worldwide economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic have caused a decrease in the shipment of natural resources.