Country at UN urges support following Bongo's re-election

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September 24, 2016 9:35 PM

Ping had been hoping to end the Bongo family's 50-year grip on power in the oil-rich country of 1.8 million people.

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 reelection of Gabon's president Ali Bongo

Gabon's foreign minister on Saturday used his address at the United Nations to call on world governments to help rebuild his country's unity after the contested re-election of President Ali Bongo.

"Rebuilding ties and the unity of the country is what is required at this moment," Foreign Minister Emmanuel Isozet Ngondet told the General Assembly.

"Preserving peace and stability in the country is the challenge of the moment," he said.

Gabon's constitutional court overnight upheld Bongo's victory in elections, rejecting the appeal of defeated rival Jean Ping.

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