Ping vs Bongo: son of a wealthy Chinese trader claims victory over Gabon’s president in election marred by fraud claims

Supporters of Gabon’s President Ali Bongo and his chief rival both said on Sunday they were set to win a presidential election that poses the most serious challenge yet to the Bongo family’s half-century rule in the tiny, oil-rich nation.

Backers of the president and his main challenger, Jean Ping, also traded accusations of fraud allegedly committed during Saturday’s vote, raising the prospect of increased tension in the wake of an uncharacteristically bitter campaign.

At a large gathering of supporters at his campaign headquarters in the capital, Ping, 73, distributed figures showing him handily beating Bongo.

“The general trends indicate we’re the winner of this important presidential election,” Ping told backers and reporters. “Despite numerous irregularities ... you have managed to thwart this regime’s congenital traps of fraud.”

Interior Minister Pacôme Moubelet-Boubeya, who had already warned candidates that giving results before the official declaration was against the law, condemned Ping’s announcement.