ALI BEN BONGO WINS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

On 12 October 2009 Gabon’s Constitutional Court confirmed Ali Ben Bongo as the winner of the country’s 30 August presidential election. The court confirmed that Bongo won the election with approximately 42 percent of the vote, while opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou, who had originally been named the third place finisher, came in second with 25.6 percent of the vote and Andre Mba Obame received 25.3 percent. The results were reissued after opposition politicians petitioned the court to conduct a recount of the votes, claiming that the original election results were fraudulent. Although riots erupted in response to the first announcement in early September 2009 that Bongo had won the election, there is no indication that opposition supporters will stage similar protests this time around. Bongo will be officially sworn in as president within the next two weeks.