Page 21 - Omar Bongo News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Sep 13 (IPS) - On 26 August, Gabon went through the motions of an election. Official results were announced four days later, in the middle of the night, with the country under curfew. Predictably, incumbent President Ali Bongo, in power since the death of his father and predecessor in 2009, was handed a third term. Fraud allegations were rife, as in previous elections. But this time something unprecedented happened: less than an hour later the military had taken over, and the Bongo family’s 56-year reign had ended.

The toppling of Ali Bongo Ondimba brought the curtain down on 55 years of rule by a family accused of extracting fabulous wealth from Gabon's major oil reserves.

If you believed the hashtag - #alleyesonthejudiciary, you might be shocked to realise that a social media label could have a real-time soporific effect. This was exactly what happened when judges at the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal, PEPT, took their judgement seats at the tribunal last Wednesday. It was as if only the judges were…

This decision is part of the newly constituted cabinet consisting of 26 ministries.

Gabon's interim prime minister says a two-year transition period before holding free elections promised by military rulers is “reasonable.”