On August 26, Gabon will hold a triple election for president and parliament. The IPI global network calls on authorities in the country to allow journalists to cover the election and its outcome freely and safely. 

Gabon has been ruled since 2009 by incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba. He succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, who was in power for 41 years. The country has been governed by a single party, the Gabonese Democratic Party, since independence in 1960.

There are concerns among the public over the fairness of the elections, given that the Gabonese Democratic Party has been controlling the governance system for more than a half-century. Some opposition parties and local civil society organizations have said that the new electoral law does not guarantee transparency.

The media landscape in Gabon is also fraught with an atmosphere of censorship, with journalists and critical media regularly practicing self-censoring out of fear of arrest and repression from the authorities.

IPI’s monitoring of press freedom threats and violations has also highlighted several recent threats to coverage of the elections, including the barring of Cameroonian journalist Sainclair Mazing of Cameroon Tribune from entering the country to cover the elections. On August 19, Mezing was deported upon his arrival at the airport in Gabon, after being interrogated several hours. According to reports, the journalist had been assured of accreditation by the Gabon Embassy in Cameroon upon arrival in Gabon. However, the immigration and security officers at the airport deported him, despite the fact that he provided his assignment letter from his media house which testified he came to the country for election coverage.

On July 12, three online news outlets and a newspaper were sanctioned by Haute autorité de la communication (HAC), the media regulatory body over a publication deemed false about a rally movement of the opposition leader Paulette Missambo from the political party Union National.

“Media coverage of the elections is part of the democratic process and guarantees the credibility and transparency of the electoral process”, IPI Africa Advocacy and Partnerships Lead Nompilo Simanje said.  ‘’IPI urges the authorities in Gabon to allow both public and private media access to information about the elections and to let them do their jobs freely and safely.”