Son of Bongo favourite as Gabon votes

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Voters in Gabon faced delays Sunday to elect a successor to long-time leader Omar Bongo, with the late president's son tipped to take over rule of the central African oil nation.

Ali Ben Bongo, defence minister in his father's government, had looked to be cruising towards victory after a well-funded election campaign. But he faced a growing last-minute challenge after several candidates withdrew in favour of a leading rival.

"There is a mounting groundswell of opposition against frontrunner Ali Ben, which he will have to contend with if he does eventually come to power," IHS Global Insight analyst Kissy Agyeman-Togobo said.

Witnesses reported delays at a number of voting stations around the capital Libreville as election officials had to wait for equipment to be delivered. Some 200 people queued up at one polling station to cast their vote.

"We arrived here and the voting urns weren't in place. We had to put together the polling booth ourselves," said Danniel Adamdi, a Libreville resident in his late 20s.

Investors have played down the risk of unrest but there have been accusations of rigging and some analysts fear tensions could spill over as results start coming in from Monday onwards.

Omar Bongo died in June after using his grip on power and petro-dollars from sub-Saharan Africa's fifth largest producer to minimise ethnic tensions in the country of 1.5 million.

Ali Ben Bongo, 50, resigned from the defence ministry after opposition complaints that the post gave him an unfair advantage in the campaign, but analysts say he retains a strong influence over the state and ruling party machinery.

"It is clear that we cannot accept disorder," Ben Bongo warned protesters ahead of the poll. "We shall use all the institutions that the law authorises us to use -- the street belongs to no one," he told Radio France International.

YOUTH VOTE

Sea and land borders were closed until midnight Thursday. Witnesses saw armed security around some voting stations in Libreville, particularly in those districts known as opposition strongholds. Voters appeared to be complying with a government request to return to their homes after casting their ballot.

Friday, five out of a field of 23 candidates withdrew to back Andre Mba Obame, a former interior minister and stalwart of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) who quit last month to run as an independent.

In Gabon's single-round election system, the candidate with the most votes wins, without requiring a majority. Ben Bongo has toured the country to attract the large youth vote with his "Ali '9" campaign, often with a hip-hop music backing at his rallies.

"I think it's with him that the youth have a hope for a better life. With him you can really get change," said Libreville resident Yann Chancel.

Gabon has exported oil since the 1960s and is one of the few sub-Saharan nations to launch a Eurobond.

But most Gabonese live in poverty and, after years of tight control, the end of Bongo's rule was overshadowed by probes into his massive personal fortune by a judge in France, the former colonial power that remains highly influential in Gabon.

The fact that Gabon's oil reserves are gradually running out has meant several candidates -- including Bongo -- have said it is time to start diversifying the economy.

(Additional reporting by Media Coulibaly; Writing by Mark John; editing by Diana Abdallah)