Gabon President Ali Bongo says will run for third term

By AFP

Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba said on Sunday that he would seek a third term as the oil-rich African nation's head of state.

The Bongo family has ruled the country for 55 years already and is branded a "dynastic power" by the opposition after Bongo, 64, took over from his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba in 2009.

"I officially announce today that I am a candidate," he told a crowd of supporters in a speech broadcast live on his Facebook page.

Presidential elections will be held on August 26.

His powerful Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) holds strong majorities in both houses of parliament.

The president was narrowly re-elected in 2016, with just 5,500 more votes than rival Jean Ping who claimed the election had been fixed.