Gabon’s ambassador to the United States has said that a recount of votes in the country’s controversial August election would be impossible, since the ballots had been burned, despite announcing a review of the result on Monday. Michael Moussa-Adamo, the Central African country’s representative to the U.S., stated in a letter to the New York Times on Monday that the Gabonese Constitutional Court would undertake a review of the election result, including a “recount of the vote.” The country’s electoral commission declared President Ali Bongo Ondimba the winner of the vote, sparking violent protests among supporters of opposition candidate Jean Ping.
But in an interview with Foreign Policy on Wednesday, Moussa-Adamo said that the recount would be “more of a review and a tabulation,” since all of the ballots were burned immediately after the August 27 vote.
“At every single voting station, the results are read out openly in front of everybody, then everything is tallied, there’s a tally sheet, and the actual ballots are burned in front of everybody,” explained Moussa-Adamo.
Full Article: Gabon Vote Audit Despite Burned Ballots.
