Gabon erupts in post-election violence

Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping said Thursday that two people had been killed and several others injured in an attack on his headquarters by the security forces in the capital Libreville. “He also calls on the authorities to ensure that the national security forces exercise maximum restraint in their response to protests”.

Ali Bongo’s landed a second, seven year term in a vote critics claim was rigged.

The BBC’s Charles Stephane Mavoungou in Libreville says people there have been unable to access the internet. “They do what they are told to do”, he said.

“Within the framework of a political process, there’s no room for violence”, Ayrault said in a written statement.

The U.S. and European Union have also called for the results to be made public while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged calm.

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

During the meeting, Bathily told the council that he was “hopeful” that tensions could be eased in Gabon, which has been ruled by the Bongo family for nearly 50 years.

His supporters accused the government of stealing the election.

A government spokesman said the operation was to catch “criminals” who had earlier set fire to the parliament building.

“This victory by such a tight score obliges … each of us to respect the verdict of the ballot box and our institutions”, Bongo said in the text of a victory speech distributed to reporters.

Ali Bongo, 57, succeeded his father Omar Bongo who had come to power in 1967 and passed away in 2009.

Bongo benefited from a patronage system lubricated by oil money ahead of the vote. “It’s as simple as that”, the opposition leader told Al-Jazeera.

Bongo’s main rival, 73-year-old Jean Ping was a former foreign minister and the chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC).

Election workers count presidential votes at a polling station in Libreville, Aug. 30, 2009.

The opposition alleged election fraud after results announced Wednesday showed that a political dynasty stretching back to the 1960s would remain in power in this oil-rich Central African country.

But by mid-morning, security forces had sealed off the city center, which was calm and otherwise deserted, with troops, police and anti-riot squads patrolling the streets.

Opposition supporters rejected the result, alleging irregularities in voter turnout.

On Wednesday, angry protesters vented their fury by setting fire to the parliament building, sending skyward a plume of flame and black smoke after President Bongo was declared victor.