In an effort to refute opposition charges that he lacks the strength and track record to carry through generous electoral promises in a third term, Gabonese President Ali Bongo has been campaigning for reelection in remote areas of the nation’s rainforest-covered country this month.
On August 26, the nation of Central Africa will have presidential, parliamentary, and local elections. Six of Bongo’s 18 opponents have backed a joint candidate in a bid to unite the opposition vote and oust his family from power after 56 years.
The vote is a highly anticipated test of Bongo’s support. Detractors dispute his ability to lead after suffering a stroke in 2018 and claim he hasn’t done enough to distribute Gabon’s oil wealth to the third of its 2.3 million people who live in poverty.
The 64-year-old has made an effort to refute this perception during his extensive campaign tour. In contrast to his infrequent and flimsy television appearances following his sickness, Bongo has walked out confidently on stage to woo voters with promises of increased family benefits and reductions in public school costs.
“We will win it, because I have a vision … of what the future of Gabon should be. I heard you. I know where your priorities are. I know where you want us to go all out,” he said at a rally on Monday.
The primary opposition to him is Albert Ondo Ossa. A coalition of six major opposition parties chose the 69-year-old professor of economics and management as their joint candidate last Friday, only one week before the election.
A potentially alluring promise in a nation where one in three young people are unemployed and the vast majority of people have only experienced Bongo rule, his campaign has centered on the need for reform and improved economic possibilities.
“We have to manage the country differently. Our youth has the right to have something else, especially in this country of such immeasurable wealth,” Ondo Ossa said when he won the joint nomination.