Gabon's Ali Bongo says for Constitutional Court to rule on vote recount

Gabon's re-elected President Ali Bongo said he would be a leader for all Gabonese people and that it was for the Constitutional Court to decide whether there should be a recount of the recent disputed vote result.

The European Union (EU) has questioned the validity of the result which saw Bongo win by a wafer-thin margin and France has said a recount would be wise.

Asked in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on Wednesday whether he would permit a recount, Bongo told France's RTL radio: "What people should be asking me to do is apply the law. I cannot violate the law. As far as a recount is concerned ... that's done at the level of the Constitutional Court."

Gabon's opposition leader Jean Ping appealed on Monday for a general strike in response to what he said was a fraudulent re-election of President Ali Bongo, while the justice minister resigned over the government's failure to organise a recount.

Their protests undermined Bongo's attempts to project stability following the election's violent aftermath, though few citizens in the capital Libreville appeared to heed his defeated rival Jean Ping's strike call as economic activity picked back up. Ping, a former African Union Commission chairman who declared himself Gabon's leader, said his fight was not over.