LIBREVILLE — The people of Gabon began casting their ballots on Saturday in a vote to decide whether President Ali Bongo will remain in office or be unseated by a career diplomat and close associate of his late father, who ran the country for 41 years.The election takes place in a climate of persistent social unrest driven in large part by the economic impact of the slump in the price of oil, which has long dominated Gabon’s economy.Bongo, 57, and ex-African Union (AU) Commission chief Jean Ping, 73, who both worked under Omar Bongo until he died in 2009, are seen as the only credible candidates among a field of 10.In the working class district of Rio in the capital Libreville, a polling station set up at a school opened shortly before 7am GMT — about an hour after the scheduled time, an AFP journalist said.Elsewhere in the capital, voting had not yet started at several polling stations.Until recently, Bongo was far and away the favourite, largely because several prominent politicia...
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