**The son of Gabon’s late leader Omar Bongo has been declared the winner of the country’s presidential election, amid protests from opposition groups.**Ali Ben Bongo won almost 42% of the votes, with his nearest rival on 26%.
Mr Bongo, whose father ruled the oil-rich nation for four decades before his death in June, was expected to win.
Earlier, security forces used teargas to disperse hundreds of opposition activists who believe the results were fixed to ensure a dynastic succession.
The BBC’s Linel Kwatsi in the capital, Libreville, says huge crowds of opposition supporters gathered outside the electoral commission building.
But later the streets of Libreville were said to be quiet, amid a heavy security presence.
OMAR BONGO
- Led Gabon for nearly 42 years
- Oil money means Gabon officially one of richest countries in Africa
- Maintained close ties to former colonial power France
- He denied corruption charges in French courts
- Allowed multi-party polls in 1993; opposition said they were not fair
Having a laugh with Omar Bongo](http://www.paklinks.com/2/low/africa/8091373.stm)
Gabon teacher not mourning Bongo](http://www.paklinks.com/2/low/africa/8091006.stm)
The election has been mired in controversy - with the announcement of results delayed amid a misunderstanding between election officials over how to verify the votes.
All three of the main candidates declared victory in the poll - while another candidate went on hunger strike to protest against what he saw as irregularities in the election process.
Sunday’s vote was generally peaceful but tense, with long queues of voters waiting to chose a successor to Omar Bongo.
One of the world’s richest men, the late president owned a string of properties in France.
He was an unflinching ally of France and a key element in French influence in Central Africa. But he denied corruption charges in French courts.
BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says that Ali Ben Bongo is seen as less closely linked to the French elite than his father, despite being educated at the Sorbonne.
He is also somewhat detached from ordinary Gabonese, struggling to speak local languages with real fluency, he says.
Gabon is sub-Saharan Africa’s fourth biggest oil producer and Africa’s second biggest wood exporter, although most of its 1.4 million people live in poverty.