31 Aug 2009
Three different candidates have claimed victory in Gabon's presidential election to choose a successor for Africa's longest-ruling head of state.

The claims on Monday from the main contenders in the race came ahead of the announcement of preliminary election results, amid huge voter turnout on Sunday.

Omar Bongo, one of the wealthiest men in the world, died in June, after more than four decades at the helm of the oil-rich country.

His son, former Defense Minister Ali Bongo, is seeking to fill his father's shoes and has promised to improve on what he describes as the 'prosperity' that the father brought to the former French colony.

He has the support of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), which immediately pronounced him as the new leader of the oil-rich country.

“Information received from different constituencies in Gabon and abroad put me largely as a winner. I'm waiting for the competent authorities to announce the results officially," Bongo claimed at a press conference on Monday.

However, opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou and the ex-interior minister Andre Mba Obame also insisted on having won the most votes as ballots closed Sunday night.

During the campaign, Bongo's rivals promised to uproot what they called widespread corruption and discrimination in Gabon.

Mamboundou, said his victory would mark a "new era," and has already started outlining his government's economic plan.

Obame said he has won in four of the country's nine provinces.

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