Gabon Imposes Curfew And Cuts Internet Access As Voting Wraps Up

Gabon’s government has announced a nationwide curfew as well as cut off internet access as voting in major national elections was wrapping up Saturday evening.

Gabon’s communications minister, Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou, announced on state television that there would a nightly curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m, adding that internet access would be restricted indefinitely as there had been calls for violence and spreading of disinformation.

The announcement came after voters cast ballots to elect new local leaders, national legislators and Gabon’s next president.

Incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba was seeking a third seven-year term and to continue a 55-year political dynasty. Bongo came to power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for 41 years.

Bongo won his current term in office by a narrow margin in 2016 amid violent protests. This year, the opposition united in favor of his main challenger, economics professor Albert Ondo Ossa, one week before Saturday’s elections.

Ossa’s platform revolves around breaking Gabon out of the status quo. He said that if elected, he would dissolve the National Assembly, redraw the electoral map and organize a new legislative election, with a goal of forming a government committed to addressing economic inequality.

Around 847,000 people were eligible to cast ballots Saturday. Voters in Libreville, Gabon’s capital, complained of polling stations opening late. Voting was scheduled to begin in the morning, but many election sites had failed to open as of 2 p.m.

In anticipation of post-electoral violence, many people in the capital went to visit family in other parts of the country or left Gabon altogether.

Others stockpiled food or bolstered security in their homes.