Gabon: Second round of legislative elections October 27 /update 5

Event

A second round of legislative elections will be held in 61 constituencies on Saturday, October 27. Heightened security measures and traffic disruptions are anticipated around all election-related events. Violence between supporters of rival parties, and between supporters and security forces, during and following the vote cannot be ruled out.

Context

These elections had been delayed multiple times by the Constitutional Court since December 2016, officially due to a lack of resources.

The ruling PDG party (Parti Démocratique Gabonais) won 74 of 143 seats at the National Assembly in the first round of elections held without incident on October 6. Voter turnout was relatively low - 58 percent - mostly due to disinterest and low confidence in the electoral system, as voting is traditionally marred by fraud.

Advice

Travelers in Gabon are advised to keep abreast of the situation and avoid all public gatherings due to the potential for violence.