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- Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba, seeking a third term, will face 18 rivals in the upcoming presidential election, including Alexandre Barro Chambrier and Paulette Missambo.
- Bongo's family has been in power for 55 years in the oil-rich West African state.
- Controversies surround electoral changes; critics argue modifications to the electoral code favour the ruling majority, raising concerns over fairness in the 26 August poll.
According to authorities, Gabon's leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, the favourite to win a third term, will face 18 other candidates in next month's presidential election.
Bongo's family has ruled the oil-rich West African state for 55 years.
The 64-year-old, who took over from his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, in 2009, officially announced in July that he would run again for president.
The Gabonese Election Centre validated 19 of the 27 candidacy applications received, five more than in 2016.
Bongo's leading rivals for the top job include Alexandre Barro Chambrier of the opposition Rally for the Fatherland and Modernity (RPM) party and the National Union's head Paulette Missambo.
The opposition failed to agree on a single candidate to challenge Bongo in the 26 August poll, but both candidates are former ministers and part of the Alternance 2023 coalition.
On Sunday, a rally by Chambrier's party in the eastern city of Franceville was disrupted by an "unidentified group" who attacked activists, causing several minor injuries, Eddy Minang, the city's public prosecutor, told AFP.
In a Monday statement, the RPM described the attackers as "rioters in the pay of the government".
In April, the Gabonese Parliament voted to amend the Constitution and reduce the president's term from seven to five years.
Sections of the opposition criticised the changes, particularly the end of two rounds of voting which they see as a means of "facilitating the re-election" of Bongo.
With less than five weeks to go to the elections, Alternance 2023 has denounced modifications to the electoral code.
These notably include a move to allow a maximum of only three observers at each polling station - one for the ruling majority, one for the opposition and one for all independent candidates.
Previously every candidate could appoint an observer for every polling station.
"The claim of parity between the majority and the opposition is a trick. It favours supposed opposition parties without any candidates or very few," Francois Ndong Obiang, head of the Reagir party, told a meeting of Alternance member parties on Friday.
Last week, Prime Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze urged the opposition not to "throw oil on the fire".
"In order to hold a calm election, those involved must be careful not to throw oil on the fire," he posted on Twitter.
Bongo's powerful Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) holds strong majorities in both houses of Parliament.
The president was narrowly re-elected in 2016, with just 5 500 more votes than rival Jean Ping, who claimed the election had been fixed.
According to the government, the announcement of the results sparked violence in the capital Libreville that left five dead. The opposition says 30 people were shot dead by the security forces.
Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018 and spent months recovering on the sidelines, leaving the opposition questioning his fitness to run the nation.
He still has a stiff arm and leg and mobility difficulties, but in recent months has held "republican meetings" around the country and made official visits abroad, including for summits.
The presidential ballot will coincide with elections for the National Assembly and regional and local councils.
Gabon is one of the richest countries in Africa in terms of per capita GDP due largely to its oil revenue and a relatively small population of 2.3 million.
According to the World Bank, a third of the population still live below the poverty threshold.
