ICC steps into Gabon poll row

People hold a banner and photos during a demonstration of Gabonese associations in Marseille, southern France, on September 24, 2016 to protest against the validation of re-election of Gabon's president Ali Bongo. Gabon is a signatory to the Rome Statute which provides the guidelines for prosecutions at the ICC. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said Libreville referred the violence to her office on September 21, asking it to open an investigation.
  • Opposition demonstrators set parliament on fire and clashed with police, who made hundreds of arrests.

THE HAGUE

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is opening an investigation into the deadly unrest in Gabon, triggered by a disputed presidential election.

The news came only days after President Ali Bongo, re-elected by a wafer-thin margin in the August 27 vote over his rival Jean Ping, vowed to form an inclusive government for the oil-rich central African country.

Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said Libreville referred the violence to her office on September 21, asking it to open an investigation.

Violence erupted on August 31 when Bongo was declared the winner of the election.

Opposition demonstrators set parliament on fire and clashed with police, who made hundreds of arrests.

Opposition figures say more than 50 people were killed. The government has given a toll of three dead.

In a standoff, Ping declared himself president-elect and asked for a recount in one of the provinces.

In the letter of referral to the ICC signed by Gabon’s Justice Minister Denise Mekamne Edzidzie, the government accused Ping and his supporters of incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity.

It highlighted a speech which Ping gave during his campaign, in which he allegedly called on his supporters “to get rid of cockroaches”.

“These words were an incitement to commit genocide,” the letter said.

In what will be a lengthy process, Bensouda said her office would conduct a preliminary examination”.

Gabon is a signatory to the Rome Statute which provides the guidelines for prosecutions at the ICC.