section_path: Background/2023 elections
section_name: 2023 elections
paragraph_text: 2023 elections
  
  Following presidential elections held on 26 August 2023, the incumbent president, Ali Bongo, who had been seeking re-election for a third term, was declared the winner according to an official announcement made on 30 August. However, allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities immediately emerged from opposition parties and independent observers, casting doubt over the legitimacy of the election results. Among those who criticized the results was Albert Ondo Ossa, who had come second in the elections according to the official count. Parliamentary elections, departmental elections and local elections were held the same day.
  
  Just two hours before the polls closed, Ondo Ossa denounced "fraud orchestrated by the Bongo camp". He had already claimed victory and urged Bongo to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power based on his own purported vote count. The official election results were announced in the middle of the night on state television without prior notice. The country was placed under curfew and internet access was cut off throughout the nation, measures implemented by the government to prevent the spread of " false news " and potential violence.