Gabon legislative elections postponed again

The Gabonese legislative elections, which were to be held by 9 July 2017 after a first postponement, have further been postponed to be held ‘latest by April 2018’, according to the country’s Constitutional Court.

“The elections of members of the National Assembly will be organized no later than April 2018,” said Article 3 of the Constitutional Court’s statement on 11 July.

This fresh postponement comes about after failed political reconciliation talks between the government and a section of the opposition, which the court says are important before kicking off an electoral reforms process.

President Ali Bongo was re-elected by fewer than 6,000 votes after a poll in August that the European Union said was marked by anomalies in Bongo’s stronghold province of Haut-Ogooue, where he won 95 percent on a 99.9 percent turnout.

Bongo became leader in 2009 on the death of his father, who ruled for 42 years. The win gives Bongo another seven years in office.