Some polling stations in the capital of Gabon, Libreville, extended their opening hours this Saturday to allow all citizens who had gone to the polls to vote in a presidential election marked by high turnout.

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As confirmed by some news agencies, the National Commission for the Organization and Coordination of Elections and Referendums (CNOCER), voting was extended for one hour until 19.00 local time (18.00 GMT), in many of the centers in the capital where there were still people left to vote, while in the rest of the country schools could be closed on time because of the lower attendance.

Slightly more than 920,000 voters, out of a total population of about 2.5 million people, were called to vote in some 3,000 polling stations; that they should open their doors initially between 07.00 and 18.00 local time in the nine provinces of this Central African country, as well as in embassies and consulates of about thirty African, European and Asian nations.

Among the eight candidates for the presidency, the current transitional president and leader of the military junta, Brigadier General Brice Oligui Nguema, stands out as the main favorite and sought to legitimize his mandate at the polls this Saturday.

Nguema’s main rival is former Prime Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, who was the last to hold that position before his term was interrupted by the coup d’état of 30 August 2023.

If no candidate obtains an absolute majority, a second round shall be held between the two best-voted candidates whose date has not yet been determined, while legislative and local elections to complete the transition are also planned for the coming months.

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