Gabon’s Bongo shrugs off calls for vote recount

Gabonese re-elected president, Ali Bongo, has shrugged off international calls for a recount of last week’s disputed vote, saying it was a matter for the constitutional court to decide.

Bongo said on Wednesday during an interview in Libreville that what people should be asking for is the application of the law rather than vote recount.

“I cannot violate the law. As far as a recount is concerned that’s done at the level of the Constitutional Court,” he said.

The European Union has questioned the validity of election which the opposition has dismissed as a sham.

France, the former colonial ruler of the central African oil producer, has also said a recount would be wise and good for the country.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader Jean Ping, who has said the election was stolen, has called for help from the international community.

He said the results are known globally and it is not hidden that Bongo is doing everything not to accept it.

Ping insisted that he has no faith in the constitutional court because it was tied to the Bongo family and that he wanted a recount done under international supervision before any appeal to that court.

“I will be the president for all Gabonese, I will work with all my compatriots who want to join me in working for the development of the country.

He said that it is difficult to work with those who asked the Gabonese people to go into the streets and loot. (Reuters/NAN)