The election was held to replace long-time president Omar Bongo, who died in June after 42 years in power.

VOA: standard.2009.10.04

Opposition demonstrators are targeting French concerns because of the long relationship between French leaders and the 42-year-rule of Gabonese President Omar Bongo.

VOA: standard.2009.09.05

The Union of the Gabonese People candidate lost to Omar Bongo in 1998 and 2005.

VOA: standard.2009.08.28

Omar Bongo, Gabon's president for 35 years, secured a constitutional change that could let him remain in power indefinitely.

ECONOMIST: Seeking Saddam

El Hadj Omar Bongo, the president of oil-rich Gabon exposed in 1997 during France's notorious Elf Aquitaine bribery scandal, was a private banking client dating back to 1970.

FORBES: Private Banking: R.I.P.

In an interview with French television on Monday, he also alleged that the former head of the far-right National Front party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, funded part of his 1988 presidential campaign with money from Gabon's late ex-president Omar Bongo, AFP reports.

BBC: Dominique de Villepin and Jacques Chirac in 2007