KIGALI, Rwanda

Voters in Gabon are once again heading to the polls for the second round of the legislative elections.

Ten-day campaigns for the second round began on Oct. 1 and ended on Friday.

Approximately 900,000 Gabonese were eligible to cast their ballots in the country’s first round of the legislative polls held on Sept. 27, the first since a 2023 military coup ousted former President Ali Bongo.

The Democratic Union of Builders (UDB) party of President Brice Oligui Nguema won a majority in the first round after securing 55 out of 145 seats in the National Assembly, according to provisional results released by the Interior Ministry.

In the second round, the contest is in 77 constituencies where no candidate won an absolute majority, according to the national electoral body.

The contest is mostly between UDB and the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), the party of former president Ali Bongo, which won three seats in the first round.

The two parties actively rallied undecided voters during the campaigns.

The UDB is hoping to capitalize on the results of the first round, according to political observers.

On Friday, Nguema, while welcoming the satisfactory results of the first round, urged all actors in the electoral process to “double their efforts to guarantee the integrity and transparency of the next round.”

He also called for collective responsibility to ensure a peaceful environment during elections and to avoid political tensions.

Nguema won April’s presidential election.

Interior Minister Hermann Immongault, who is also head of the National Commission for the Organization of Elections, noted that the first round was conducted in a fair environment, although irregularities were observed at some polling stations.

He urged all election officials to be vigilant in order to ensure a smooth, peaceful and exemplary election on Saturday.