Gabon's government resigns
19/01/2007 18:52  - (SA)  

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Libreville - Gabon's Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong tendered his government's resignation on Friday, a month after elections won by supporters of President Omar Bongo Ondimba.

"The head of the government was received on Friday morning by the president of the republic, to whom he formally presented the resignation of his government as provided for in the constitution," said Ndong's cabinet director Max-Olivier Obame.

The move was seen as a constitutional formality, since Ndong, 60, was named to the job a year ago and is widely expected to be asked to form a new post-electoral government.

In the equatorial African country, the government steps down once it has seen through its current affairs after the Constitutional Court proclaims the results of elections.

The court did this on December 27, after 10 says of the parliamentary poll, but the government remained in office to finish its business, including talks with visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) director-general Rodrigo Rato, said Obame.

Bongo's Gabonese Democratic Party won 81 of the 120 parliamentary seats, its allies took 17 more, and 16 others went to two opposition parties. Independents took five seats and the court announced a re-run in one constituency.