Jean Ping had been a long-time ally of former President Omar Bongo. Photo by AFP
Gabonese security forces have stormed the headquarters of the defeated presidential candidate, Jean Ping, after they accused “armed criminals” of torching the parliament.
Ping said two people had been killed as live shots were fired.
His supporters had been staging protests after official results gave President Ali Bongo a narrow victory in Saturday’s presidential election.
They accused the government of stealing the election.
The election result, announced on Wednesday afternoon, gave Bongo a second seven-year term with 49.8 percent of the vote to Ping’s 48.2 percent – a margin of 5,594 votes.
But, Ping disputes the result in one province, which show a 99.93 percent turnout with 95 percent voting for Ali Bongo.
European Union election monitor spokesperson Sarah Crozier told BBC Newsday, “It’s not a very common result, that’s for sure.”
Ping said the election was fraudulent and “everybody knows” he won.
He also denounced the raid, which happened while he was not in the building.
“They attacked around 01:00 (00:00 GMT). It is the republican guard,” he said. “They were bombarding with helicopters and then they attacked on the ground.”
Ping has called for international assistance to protect the population and has called for voting figures from each polling station to made public.
The U.S. and EU have also called for the results to be made public while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged calm.
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