The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned what it called "Gabonese government censorship and restrictions on media coverage of the presidential election, including denial of accreditation to at least four international journalists". In a statement from its headquarters in New York, US, the CPJ said that prior to the election, Gabonese government authorities denied accreditations to international journalists from French media outlets, including international broadcaster France 24 and weekly L'Express, which were known for their probing coverage of late President Bongo's health and wealth.

As Omar Bongo Ondimba, the Gabonese president who died at age 73 in Barcelona on Jun. 8, is buried in Franceville in the south-west of Gabon on Thursday, his 41-year-reign as absolute ruler of this oil-producing country of 1.5 million has received mixed reviews. In neighbouring Congo, a seven-day period of national mourning has been declared. Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso was closely aligned with Bongo; his daughter, Edith Lucie, was married to the Gabonese president at the time of her own death in March.