Deadly protests rock Gabon after disputed elections

Security forces in the Central African nation of Gabon on Thursday arrested more than 1,000 people and confirmed at least three deaths as violent protests over disputed presidential election results rock the country.

Incumbent President Ali Bongo narrowly defeated his opponent, Jean Ping, 49.8 percent to 48.2 percent, according to provisional results released Wednesday. Bongo succeeded his father, Omar, as the president of the oil-producing country in 2009. His re-election will extend the family’s nearly 50-year rule.

Ping, who declared victory before the final results, accused the electoral commission of fraud.

“Everybody knows that I won the election,” Ping told Reuters. “The opposition can win the elections but they have never had access to power.”

Following the announcement of the results, Ping’s supporters took to the streets, burning cars and looting stores. Some protestors set fire to the country’s parliament building as riots continued in at least nine neighborhoods in the capital, Libreville, according to witnesses.

In retaliation, the presidential guard stormed the opposition headquarters, where they killed at least one person and injured at least 16 others. Government spokesman Alian Claude Bilie-By-Nze confirmed the attack.

“It was a part of securing the headquarters of Jean Ping, because all the operations in the capital had been planned there,” Bilie-By-Nze said, referring to the protests.

Libreville residents also said the government cut off their internet and blocked their access to major social networks. The Office of the President in a Thursday statement accused Ping of planning the attacks, describing the protests as an attempt by Ping’s camp to incite fear among those who voted for Bongo.

The U.S. State Department called for calm and asked the Gabonese government to release the results for each polling station to confirm the election’s credibility.

“This will help give the people of Gabon, as well as the international community, confidence the announced vote tallies are accurate,” Assistant Secretary John Kirby said in the statement released Wednesday.

A European Union observer mission said the electoral bodies lacked transparency and called on the electoral commission to release detailed results from every polling station. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence and asked the government to restore the country’s phone and internet service.