GABON: ALI DECLARED WINNER, LIBREVILLE LOCKED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000405

SIPDIS

AF/C FOR LISA KORTE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL GB
SUBJECT: GABON: ALI DECLARED WINNER, LIBREVILLE LOCKED
DOWN, PORT GENTIL IN FLUX

Classified By: Ambassador Eunice Reddick for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The Gabonese Electoral Commission declared Ali Ben
Bongo Ondimba, the ruling party candidate, the winner of the
presidential election on September 3. Gabonese security
forces dispersed a crowd of an estimated 2000 supporters of
various opposition leaders who had gathered in a downtown
area of Libreville in the hours before the announcement of
the results. There are confirmed reports of large crowds in
the opposition stronghold of Port Gentil, some 200 miles from
the capital, as well as a security breach at the Port Gentil
central prison. The atmosphere in Libreville is tense, but
subdued with most shops closed for the day. With the
declaration of a winner, a 15-day clock begins for the
opposition to contest the results. However, Ali Bongo Ondimba
will be officially declared the President by the
Constitutional Court. END SUMMARY.
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ALI DECLARED WINNER
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2. (C) On September 3, the Gabonese Electoral Commission
(CENAP) provided the official results of the presidential
election to Minister of Interior Jean Francois Ndongou who
announced Ali Bongo Ondimba the victor. Ndongou read the
results for each province and each overseas voting location
on government-sponsored television. He reported that Ali
Bongo won with 41.73 percent of the vote. Opposition
candidates Pierre Mamboundou gathered 25.22 percent and Andre
Mba Obame had 25.88 percent.

3. (U) In most provinces, the Electoral Commission's numbers
indicated that an average of about one-third of eligible
voters participated. In the Haut-Ogooue province (home of
the Bongo family),the Electoral Commission reported that 65
percent of eligible voters participated ) and voted heavily
for Ali Bongo. Haut-Ogooue had 57,522 votes accepted, double
the amount recorded in the more populated Ogooue-Maritime
(25,341) and almost half the number of voters that were
accepted from Estuaire province (112,902) ) Estuaire
contains Libreville and constitutes 65 percent of the
population in Gabon.

4. (U) The next step is for the Minister of Interior to
provide the results to the Constitutional Court, which will
review the results for a day or two and decide whether to
declare the results official and that Ali Bongo is the
president-elect. The opposition will have fifteen days to
lodge official protests challenging the results. However,
challenges to the results will not preclude the
Constitutional Court from declaring Ali Bongo before the
expiration of the fifteen-day period.

5. (C) The election results were originally scheduled to be
revealed immediately following the vote, but were pushed back
until the afternoon of September 2 to allow the Electoral
Commission to meet with representatives of all the parties.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 1500 did not begin
until 2000 and continued well into the night. According to
the ruling Democratic Party of Gabon Secretary General
Bankoubi, the delay was caused by confusion regarding the
vote count in Estuaire province (Libreville third district
and Owendo district) and the Ogooue-Lolo province (Pana
district). Minister of Interior Ndonogou claims that there
was "consensus" between the ruling PDG and opposition
representatives during the electoral commission meeting
before the official results were announced.
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SECURITY
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6. (C) A large crowd of over 2000 people gathered at the
entrance of the area of Libreville called Cite de la
Democratie during the afternoon of September 2 (Cite is the
location of the conference center where the Electoral
Commission met to finalize the numbers). The crowd stayed
through the night, waiting for the presidential election
results to be declared. At 0900 on September 3, in advance
of the statement by the Minister of Interior regarding the
official numbers, the crowd was dispersed by security forces
that included the police, gendarmerie and military. Tear gas
and rubber bullets were used. Opposition candidates Pierre
Mamboundou, Andre Mba Obame and Zacharie Myboto were in the
crowd.

7. (C) There is a heavy security presence throughout
Libreville. Roadblocks and traffic controls manned by the
military and police have been established along the Bord de
Mer and throughout the city. No other large protests or
marches have appeared in Libreville besides those at Cite de
la Democratie.

8. (C) The situation in Port Gentil is fluid. RSO confirms

LIBREVILLE 00000405 002 OF 002


that there was a security breach in the central prison,
allowing an indeterminate number of prisoners to escape.
Large crowds have gathered in the city center and are
marching through the downtown area. Embassy contacts tell us
that buildings with ties to the French government (including
the French Consulate) and French industry are targets for the
crowds and, in some cases, received structural damage.
Police and military are working to control the situation.
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COMMUNICATION
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9. (U) Internet and television continue to operate normally
with a couple notable exceptions. SMS/text messaging has
been discontinued since September 1 when the government
ordered wireless providers to suspend SMS service to prevent
the spreading of election-related rumors.
Government-affiliated television has continued to operate as
normal through the cycle.

10. (U) Independent candidate Andre Mba Obame,s extensive
media holdings have been disrupted. The night before voting,
August 29, TVPlus, a channel owned by Mba Obame, had its
signal interrupted that continued until September 1. Local
and international media also claim at 0300 on September 2
that masked gunmen destroyed an outside satellite and
broadcasting equipment operated by Go Africa, another Mba
Obame holding.
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COMMENT
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11. (C) Libreville is tense, but largely calm, with much of
the population staying indoors and close to home. Security
forces were quickly deployed throughout the city and will
likely remain a heavy presence for some time. Initial
reports of voting numbers are a concern, especially the large
numbers of eligible voters and the exceptionally high
percentage that voted in Bongo,s sparsely populated home
area. It would be surprising that this rural province turned
in such strong numbers compared to Gabon,s more densely
populated urban areas. This requires further investigation.
We are trying to confirm reports that Mamboundou, Mba Obame,
and Myboto were all injured when the crowd in front of the
Cite de la Democratie was dispersed. We will continue
seeking clarification on the timing of Bongo,s installation.
END COMMENT.
REDDICK