Gabon's opposition leader Jean Ping has applied to the country's Constitutional Court for a recount of last month's presidential election, in which President Ali Bongo was declared winner, DPA news agency reported on Friday citing Radio France Internationale.

Official results showed Bongo had defeated Ping 49.8 per cent to 48.23 percent, allowing Bongo to extend his family's 49-year rule of the central African country.

The opposition expressed suspicions of fraud, particularly because Bongo's home province Haut-Ogooue saw a voter turnout of 99.93 percent, with more than 95 percent of votes going to the incumbent president. In the country's other eight provinces, voter turnout was at about 48 percent, according to the electoral commission. 

Former Gabonese justice minister Moundounga Seraphin resigned on Monday in support of a recount, saying the way the election was handled "seriously threatened" peace and security in Gabon. 

Source : QNA