Gabon’s leader faces18 presidential candidates in next month’s election

Gabon’s leader Ali Bongo will face 18 other candidates in next month’s presidential election in which he is seeking third term

Bongo’s family has ruled the oil-rich West African state for 55 years.

The 64-year-old, who took over from his father, Omar Bongo in 2009, officially announced in July that he would run again for president.

The Gabonese Election Centre validated 19 of 27 candidacy applications received, five more than in 2016.

Bongo’s leading rivals for the top job include Alexandre Barro Chambrier of the opposition Rally for the Fatherland and Modernity (RPM) party and the National Union’s head Paulette Missambo.

The opposition failed to agree on a single candidate to challenge Bongo in the 26 August poll, but both candidates are former ministers and part of the Alternance 2023 coalition.

On Sunday, a rally by Chambrier’s party in the eastern city of Franceville was disrupted by an “unidentified group” who attacked activists, causing several minor injuries, Eddy Minang, the city’s public prosecutor, told AFP.