Gabonese Expected to Reelect Autocrat

More than 30 years after President Omar Bongo came to power, Gabonese voters turned out Sunday to decide whether the long-serving autocrat should be elected to another seven years.

Despite reports of scattered rock-throwing incidents overnight in Libreville, Sunday’s voting appeared to have come off without serious violence.

Many polling stations opened late--some as many as six hours late--and officials said four ballot boxes were destroyed by mobs angry over incomplete voter lists in northern Gabon, but no injuries were reported. A shortage of electoral material was also reported by a number of voters. Some polling stations remained open beyond the 6 p.m. closing time.

Bongo, who came to power in 1967 and whose alleged vote-rigging in the 1993 presidential vote sparked days of rioting in Libreville, is widely expected to be reelected in this oil-rich Central African nation. Even if he doesn’t reach the 51% support he needs to win outright in the first round, the opposition appears too divided to win a second round later this month.

Bongo’s vast financial resources, dominance of the broadcast media and widespread patronage system give him an enormous advantage over his seven opponents.

The opposition has charged the government is also behind a string of electoral irregularities, including weakening the National Electoral Commission, which is supposed to oversee the election, and rigging voter lists.

“They want to transform Gabon into a kingdom,” said Pierre Mamboundou, a former postal executive who is one of Bongo’s two main opponents. Another is Roman Catholic priest Paul Mba Abessole.

The government denies such accusations, but observers say the election has been marred--at the very least--by serious organizational problems. It was not clear when election results would be available.

Despite widespread allegations of corruption and a history of authoritarianism, Bongo, 63, retains a national following, in part because of Gabon’s stability and relatively high standard of living. Bongo relaxed his stranglehold on politics after pro-democracy protests forced him to allow opposition parties in 1990.