Initial Results Show President Winning Vote

Early tallies in Gabon’s election showed President Omar Bongo extending his reign as Africa’s longest-serving leader.

Preliminary ballot counts from the capital, Libreville, indicated that Bongo, in power since 1967, was ahead by a wide margin. Final results are expected Wednesday.

Bongo’s four opponents tried to tap into popular discontent about poverty and unemployment in the former French colony, which belie its oil wealth.

But they struggled to match Bongo’s big-spending campaign, in which he showered voters with gifts and claimed that only he could guarantee peace and stability.