The incumbent President Ali Bongo hopes to extend his family's five-decade grip on power.
Polls have opened in the oil-rich central African nation of Gabon where President Ali Bongo - who came to power when his father Omar died in 2009 - is hoping to win a third term."Gabon is not the property of the Bongos," says rival candidate Albert Ondo Ossa, who hopes he can lead the Alternance 2023 coalition to victory despite only being appointed last week.
Critics fear this will disadvantage independent candidates - including Mr Ondo Ossa, who heads the opposition Alternance 2023 alliance but lacks a party of his own.Foreign media have been banned from setting foot in the country to cover Saturday's vote, says the campaign group Reporters Without Borders.
As well as voting for their choice of president and MPs, the people of Gabon are also choosing mayors and local councillors.
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