“Fake news machines are running”
Government cuts internet after election in Gabon
08/26/2023, 10:10 p.m
After the presidential and parliamentary elections in Gabon, the government took harsh measures to prevent violence and misinformation, it said. The opposition speaks of “orchestrated fraud”.
After the presidential and parliamentary elections in Gabon, the government announced a nationwide curfew. In order to prevent “the spread of calls for violence (…) and false information”, the government announced that access to the Internet would be suspended “until further notice”. Observers were expecting another election victory for President Ali Bongo Ondimba and his governing PDG party. His challenger Albert Ondo Ossa accused the presidential camp of “orchestrated fraud”.
Head of state Ali Bongo Ondimba wants to remain president.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
According to the government, the night curfew, which is due to come into force on Sunday, applies daily from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Internet access was cut early on Saturday evening. Almost 850,000 Gabons were called to the elections in the Central African country. President Bongo is seeking a third term. The 64-year-old has been in power since 2009, succeeding his late father Omar Bongo Ondimba, who had ruled the country since 1967. The current head of state suffered a stroke in 2018, and since then his mobility has been restricted on the right side.
Journalists observe irregularities
His most promising challenger is the 69-year-old economics professor Ondo Ossa from the opposition alliance Alternance 2023. Ondo Ossa’s vote had been announced for the morning in the center of Gabon’s capital, Libreville. However, according to his communications consultant, he was only able to vote hours later because, according to his party, the election material had been delivered late.
“Ali Bongo and his henchmen have multiplied the elements of the fraud,” Ondo Ossa said in a live stream on the online service Facebook after casting his vote. Numerous other polling stations in the country were also opened late or not at all, said Alternance 2023 chairman François Ndong Obiang. Likewise, the ballot papers with the name of Ondo Ossa were missing in many offices, but there were ballot papers for other candidates who had withdrawn their candidatures in favor of Ondo Ossa, said the chairman of the election alliance. He criticized the authorities for creating “chaos”.
“The fake news machines are starting to go into overdrive,” said Jessye Ella Ekogha, special presidential adviser to X, formerly known as Twitter. When asked by AFP about the allegations, the electoral authority declined to comment.