Gabonese opposition candidate Jean Ping declared himself
president on Friday, after a disputed election that triggered two days of
post-election riots against President Ali Bongo. But Ping says the poll on
Saturday was a sham.
"I am the president," Ping told a news conference
after being freed from his headquarters, which had earlier been surrounded by
Gabonese security forces.
"The whole world knows who is the president of the
republic: it's me, Jean Ping," he said. "Our country is moving toward
chaos ... Peace can only occur if the truth of the ballot box is restored and
respected."
Violence erupted across the Central African country on
Wednesday following the announcement of a slim victory for Bongo, who was first
elected in 2009 after the death of his father Omar, Gabon's president for 42
years.
Five people died in the ensuing unrest, Bongo's spokesman
Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze said on Friday, and up to 1,100 arrests had been made
by Thursday, according to Gabon's interior minister, Reuters reports.
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