Libreville, Gabon — Four days after the first round of legislative elections in Gabon, the final official results of the poll were still awaited, Thursday morning.

According to sources at the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and the Interior Ministry, it won't be much longer. The CNE convened Wednesday to examine electoral verbal statements received from all over the country.

Only at the end of this process will the Minister of State and Interior Minister, Antoine de Padou Mboumbou Miyakou, officially announce the results achieved by each of the parties.

Nonetheless, initial partial results already available point to a clear victory by the Parti Démocratique Gabonais (PDG) of Président Omar Bongo. 56 PDG candidates are said to have won seats at the 120-seat National Assembly.

By contrast, the opposition has reportedly suffered setbacks in several constituencies, including some of its traditional strongholds such as Mouila, Port-Gentil, Tchibanga et Libreville, where Father Mba Abessole, mayor of Libreville and leader of the Rassemblement Nationale des Bucherons-Rassemblement pour le Gabon (RNB-RPG), will reportedly have to face a run-off.

Several opposition leaders have also called for Sunday's poll to be cancelled because of reported irregularities and the low turnout. Unless the election is annulled, argues Pierre Mamboundou, a leader of the UPG, the opposition parties ought to boycott the second round on December 23.

Observers from the African Union and the Agence de la Francophonie, have not waited for the results to be officially announced and were preparing to leave Gabon, Thursday. They submitted their report which praised the political maturity of the Gabonese people who, by and large, it said, went to polling stations in discipline and calm. The report however was critical of the disorganized manner in which Sunday's poll took place.