Former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa secured the backing of the Alternance 2023 opposition grouping on Friday, hoping to unseat Bongo, whose family has ruled the oil-rich West African state for 55 years.
Last month, however, Gabon’s electoral commission announced that any vote for a local deputy would automatically be a vote for that deputy’s presidential candidate.
The move was denounced by critics as favouring the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), since Ondo Ossa is not backed by any single party, and therefore will not have corresponding candidates for the parliamentary vote.
During a rally in Libreville broadcast on social media, Ondo Ossa and Alternance 2023 officials warned of an “unfair vote” that violated the separation of executive and legislative powers.
Source : Africa News