By AFP 26 August 2023 | 8:28 am Voters in Gabon headed to the polls on Saturday for a triple election in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, scion of a family that has ruled for 55 years, is seeking victory over a belatedly unite main rival Albert Ondo Ossa lead a race of 14 candidates vying for the top job in the small… President Ali Bongo Ondimba Voters in Gabon headed to the polls on Saturday for a triple election in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, scion of a family that has ruled for 55 years, is seeking victory over a belatedly unite main rival Albert Ondo Ossa lead a race of 14 candidates vying for the top job in the small oil-rich central African state. Even before voting stations opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT), a handful of people were waiting to cast their ballots at five schools in the centre of Libreville — though most of the streets, decked out in the colours of Bongo’s governing party, were still empty, an AFP journalist saw. The 64-year-old incumbent took office in 2009, succeeding his father Omar, who died after more than 41 years in power. But shortly ahead of the elections, a storm erupted over a purported conversation between Ondo Ossa and a fellow opposition figure. The conversation — recorded without the pair’s knowledge and disseminated on social media — refers to various strategies “to create a power struggle” and support from other countries. Bongo has accused the pair of treason, saying the remarks reflect a plot to take over with the help of “foreign powers”. At an eve-of-election rally attended by tens of thousands of supporters in Libreville, Bongo charged that the two sought to “destroy this country”. “We won’t let them to do it,” he said. Latest 18 mins ago The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has called on African countries to domesticate the Maputo protocol, an international human rights instrument on the protection of rights of women in the continent. This is as the organisation stressed the need for stakeholders to employ the use of technology to accelerate the domestication of the protocol.… 29 mins ago *Says no Audit report since 2020 To enhance transparency and accountability in governance, Civil Society Coalition on Audit in Nigeria (CSCAN) have called on President Bola Tinubu to as a matter of urgency appoint a substantive Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF). The Coalition, of about 120 civil societies including BudgIT Foundation, Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative… 45 mins ago The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future Program has disclosed that it is supporting 600,000 farms in the northeast to enhance financial inclusion and digital agriculture 52 mins ago Eight years ago, Mary Poole was a new mum with a little baby boy. She had been raised on a farm and worked outdoor jobs all her life. At the time, she worked for the city council in Missoula, trimming trees, had never left Montana, did not know any refugee or non-American for that matter and certainly knew nothing about running an organisation 1 hour ago MAYOR of Missoula, Montana, Jordan Hess, has said that young people, immigrants and refugees form a core part of his focus in governance as he discharges his duties as mayor. He made this known when The Guardian, alongside 13 other journalists, paid a visit to him at his office in Missoula, as part of activities…
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