Nearly 5,000 Gabonese have signed a petition demanding the resignation of Gabon’s ambassador to Morocco, after clashes the day before in and outside the embassy in Rabat, around voting operations for the presidential election in Gabon.
“We call for the immediate resignation of the Gabonese ambassador to Morocco (Sylver Aboubakar Minko-Mi-Nseme, editor’s note), because of his alleged responsibility in this situation”, indicates the petition which exceeded 4600 signatories at the end of Sunday afternoon.
According to witnesses on the spot, clashes broke out on Saturday evening between Moroccan security forces and Gabonese who tried or for some entered the embassy to attend the counting of the vote for the presidential election.
The election pitted the outgoing president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, in power for 14 years, against his main rival, Albert Ondo Ossa, who denounced “fraud”.
In videos on social media, which could not be authenticated by AFP, people can be seen throwing chairs in the direction of Moroccan security forces inside what appears to be the embassy. from Gabon to Rabat.
On other images, we see the Moroccan police pushing back a large number of people and getting them out of the garden of the Gabonese diplomatic representation.
“We expressed our desire to attend the count inside the embassy because we suspected irregularities. We asked to enter, they prevented us from doing so, so we forced entry,” one of the Gabonese present on Saturday told AFP.
“The embassy called on the Moroccan security forces to push us back and clear the front part of the building. That’s when the confrontations broke out,” said another witness, a Gabonese student.
Several people were arrested before being released on Sunday, while “others are still under arrest”, according to several witnesses.
It was not possible to obtain confirmation of the facts from the Moroccan authorities.
The Gabonese embassy in Morocco did not communicate on Saturday’s incidents, nor on the outcome of the count.
The government of Gabon announced on Saturday evening the closure of polling stations, a curfew and the suspension of Internet access in order to “prevent the spread of calls for violence”.
Morocco and Gabon maintain close relations, due in particular to the bonds of friendship between King Mohammed VI and President Ali Bongo.
