Gabon’s president seeks third term in elections that could extend a 55-year political dynasty

By YVES LAURENT GOMA
Associated Press

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Gabon’s president is seeking a third term in elections this weekend that could extend his family’s 55-year political dynasty. The capital of Libreville, meanwhile, is bracing for a repeat of the violence that has marred balloting in the past. The central African nation’s 800,000-plus eligible voters are to elect local lawmakers, national assembly members and president. Incumbent Ali Bongo Ondimba, who won his current term in office by a narrow margin, is being challenged by economics professor and former education minister Albert Ondo Ossa. Ossa’s surprise nomination came just a week before the vote and followed a closed-door meeting of heavyweights in the opposition coalition.