European Union calls for calm as Gabon descends into ‘deep crisis’

Two men died after overnight clashes in Gabon’s capital Libreville between security forces and demonstrators protesting after President Ali Bongo was declared the victor of a contested election, witnesses said.

Three people were killed and around 1,000 arrested during rioting overnight after Bongo was declared the victor of the election by a razor-thin margin over rival Jean Ping.

President Ali Bongo Ondimba received 49.8 percent of the vote, compared with 48.2 percent for his rival, Jean Ping, who is the former chairman of the African Union.

Security forces had surrounded the opposition headquarters overnight and stormed the building, killing two and injuring more than a dozen there, Ping told AFP.

Five people died in the unrest, Bongo’s spokesman Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze said on Friday, and up to 1,100 arrests had been made by Thursday, according to the interior minister. “Democracy doesn’t sit well with self-proclaimed victory, with groups formed to cause destruction”, he said.

The president said he was sad for the deaths of citizens, and he thanked security forces, who he said did all they could to avoid using live bullets.

On Sunday, Bongo’s allies had expressed anger over a French Socialist Party statement declaring that early results showed challenger Jean Ping to be the victor. About 200 students arrived in about four buses calling for the president to step down from office because they believe he has done nothing to improve the lives of the people of Gabon.

Mr Ping is a former African Union Commission president and Mr Bongo’s ex-son-in-law.

A European diplomat said he was safe, however.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the immediate release of political detainees arrested in post-election violence in Gabon.

The spokesman for President Ali Bongo, rejected the request by the French foreign ministry to release election results from individual polling stations on Thursday.

Bongo’s chief rival Jean Ping said he won the vote, claiming the result was rigged, and has called upon the worldwide community to intervene.

Shops, schools and businesses were shuttered for a second day in Gabon’s two main cities as security force members in balaclavas manned checkpoints to deter protesters while the internet remained shut down following disputed presidential elections.

“Everybody knows that I won the election”, Ping told Reuters, adding that the electoral commission’s figures were based on false documents.

“It’s going to be hard to get people to accept these results”, one member of the electoral commission told AFP, asking not to be named.