A petition calling for the immediate resignation of Gabon’s ambassador to Morocco, Sylver Aboubakar Minko-Mi-Nseme, has garnered significant attention as nearly 5000 Gabonese citizens have signed the appeal in the aftermath of clashes that unfolded outside and within the Gabonese embassy in Rabat.
The confrontations erupted during the vote-counting operations for Gabon’s presidential election, further intensifying the already heated political climate in the Central African country.
The petition, which surpassed 4600 signatories by late Sunday afternoon, essentially blames the escalating situation on Ambassador Sylver Aboubakar Minko-Mi-Nseme. Witness accounts report that violent clashes transpired on the night of Saturday between Moroccan security forces and Gabonese individuals who sought to observe the vote tabulation process within the embassy premises.
The presidential election in Gabon pitched long-standing incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has held power for 14 years, against his primary challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa.
Ondo Ossa, who was recently unanimously chosen by Gabon’s opposition parties to boost the opposition’s chances of unseating President Bongo, has vehemently denounced what he has described as “massive electoral fraud” aimed at illegitimately maintaining Bongo in power. Visual evidence circulating online illustrates Moroccan police forcibly dispersing a considerable crowd and evacuating them from the grounds of the Gabonese diplomatic mission.
A Gabonese citizen present during the clashes has been quoted by converging reports as saying: “We expressed our willingness to attend the counting inside the embassy because we suspected irregularities. We asked to enter, they prevented us, so we forced entry.” Another eyewitness, a Gabonese student, has also been quoted as recounting: “The embassy called on the Moroccan police to push us back and clear the front part of the building. That’s when the confrontations broke out.”
Several individuals were detained but later released on Sunday, while others remain in custody, according to multiple witnesses. Moroccan authorities have yet to officially confirm the reported incidents. Notably, the Gabonese embassy in Morocco has refrained from commenting on the events of Saturday or the outcome of the vote tally.
Meanwhile, in response to the escalating tensions in Gabon over the outcome of the election, the Gaboneses government took measures on Saturday night, including the closure of polling stations, the implementation of a curfew, and the suspension of internet access. These steps were purportedly taken to counteract the propagation of calls for violence.
Diplomatic relations between Morocco and Gabon have been historically strong, with the close ties between King Mohammed VI and President Ali Bongo adding more depth to the long-standing bilateral relationship.
Yet Sunday’s events at the Gabonese embassy in Rabat have spotlighted the challenges inherent in maintaining stability amid political rivalries and claims of electoral impropriety.
