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AFP
Leaders of the opposition in Gabon claimed Friday that the country had no more functioning parliament because the constitutional mandates of lawmakers expired on January 24.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court was wading through 45 objections to the outcome of parliamentary elections held on December 17, which were filed by January 2, a court source told AFP.

"Gabon has no more National Assembly," said opposition leader Jules-Aristide Bourdes Ogouliguende, speaking in the name of a dozen parties, including the National Union (NU), one of the main ones.

The five-year mandate of the current parliament dominated by President Ali Bongo's ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) expired at midnight on Tuesday, Ogouliguende said.

"The minister of the interior has announced, since December 21, the results of the election of December 17. If we have to wait for the proclamation of the results by the Constitutional Court once the disputes have been adjudged (...) the dispositions of the constitution cannot be respected," he added.

"The ruling PDG has just created a big judicial imbroglio," Ogouliguende charged, accusing Gabon's rulers of "bad management" and "actions that plunge the republic into confusion and disorder."

The PDG won 114 of the 120 seats in the National Assembly, according to interior ministry figures, pending the outcome of cases currently before the Constitutional Court.

A coalition of parties loosely allied with the UN boycotted the election, denouncing the absence of biometric methods to ensure a free and fair vote in the equatorial African country. The other main opposition party, the Union of the Gabonese People (UPG), long favoured a boycott before taking part at the last minute.

The abstention rate was 65.72 percent according to the official figures. The UPG protested at "massive fraud", while opposition parties that did not take part in the election said they would not recognise the outcome.