Gabon’s leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is favourite for a third term, will face 18 other candidates in the 26 August presidential poll, electoral authorities announced Monday.

The 64-year-old, who took over from his father Omar Bongo Ondimba in 2009, officially announced in July that he would run again for president, in a bid to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power in the Central African country.

His leading rivals for the top job include Alexandre Barro Chambrier of the opposition Rally for the Fatherland and Modernity (RPM) party and the National Union’s head Paulette Missambo.

The opposition failed to agree on a single candidate to challenge Bongo in next month’s poll, but both candidates are former ministers and part of the Alternance 2023 coalition.

Gabon’s centre for elections (CGE) rejected eight candidates. Seven were deemed to have incomplete files – for the most part failure to pay the 10 million CFA franc (around €15,000) enrolement fee, according to RFI’s correspondent in Libreville Yves-Laurent Goma.

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The big surprise was the rejection of Jean Boniface Assélé, Ali Bongo’s uncle, for not having resigned from the presidential majority within the required time.

Changes to electoral code

In April, the Gabonese parliament voted to amend the constitution and reduce the president’s term from seven to five years.

Sections of the opposition criticised the changes, in particular the end of two rounds of voting, as a means of “facilitating the re-election” of Bongo.

With less than five weeks to go to the elections, Alternance 2023 has denounced modifications to the electoral code.

These notably include a move to allow a maximum of only three observers at each polling station – one for the ruling majority, one for the opposition and one for all independent candidates.

Previously every candidate could appoint an observer for every polling station.

Bongo’s powerful Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) holds strong majorities in both houses of parliament.

Bongo has been president of the oil-producing nation for two seven-year terms since succeeding his father Omar in 2009. Gabon has no constitutional term limits.

Gabon is one of the richest countries in Africa in terms of per capita GDP due largely to its oil revenue and relatively small population of 2.3 million.