All eyes are on the Constitutional Court in Gabon

Gabon’s Constitutional Court has until September 23 to confirm the re-election of incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

This follows an appeal filed by opposition leader Jean Ping who has on several occasions called for a recount of the votes, claiming the ruling party committed fraud.

The nine magistrates expected to give the verdict on the case are currently examining the results in the areas where both parties claim fraud was committed.

The opposition party alleged the number of votes cast for Bongo in southeastern Upper Ogooue province was inflated with official figures showing the president had garnered more than 95 percent of the votes in the province. Bongo’s camp is expected to prove its victory by Tuesday, September 13.

The ruling party on the other hand also claims there was massive fraud by the opposition party in the opposition stronghold of Woleu-Ntem province.

Jean Ping had previously said he lacked faith in the constitutional court because of its ties to the Bongo government. He however accepted to file an appeal at the court but vowed to support fresh protests if the court does not authorize a recount.