Sean Lyngaas,
Wash PostAnalysts say the fallout from the election poses a stiff test for Gabon, whose political class is more fractured than in years past. The crisis comes as Bongo is trying to modernize the Gabonese economy, steering it away from its dependency on oil, the country's lifeblood during more than 40 years of rule by Bongo's father, Omar. But these days, oil prices have dropped, and many Gabonese are still waiting for the modernization efforts to bear fruit.
