Voting brisk in Gabon, Bongo son seen front-runner
LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Voters in Gabon turned out in large numbers on 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.
There was no official turnout figure but witnesses said polling was brisker than at the last election in 2005, with some voters making their way to polling stations well before dawn -- only to experience hours of delays before casting 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, at one of several polling stations where supplies of equipment were delayed.
Investors are banking on a Ben Bongo win and play down the risk of unrest. But there have been widespread accusations among the candidates 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, home to investors such as France's Total and Britain's Tullow Oil.
BORDERS CLOSED
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.
Sea and land borders were closed until midnight on Thursday. Witnesses saw armed security around some voting stations in Libreville, particularly in opposition strongholds.
On 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.
According to media reports, former prime minister Casimir Oye Mba also pulled out of the vote late on Friday, declaring it a sham. There was no official confirmation from his camp, which scheduled a news conference for later on Sunday.
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.
The former French colony has exported oil since the 1960s and is one of the few sub-Saharan nations to launch a Eurobond.
But around a third of Gabonese live in poverty and, after years of tight control, the end of Bongo's rule was overshadowed by probes into his personal fortune by a judge in France.
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, which also benefits from manganese and timber exports.