According to official results announced on 3 September 2009, Bongo won the elections with a plurality of 41.7% of the vote, while Mba Obame and Mamboundou both trailed with about 25% each.

[4] In the aftermath of Omar Bongo's death, reports suggested that, due to the need to update the voters' roll, the elections might not be held within the 45-day period.

[6][7] In an interview on 22 June, Prime Minister Jean Eyeghé Ndong appeared to confirm this speculation, saying that "it seems certain that it will take us more than 45 days".

The Defense Ministry denied the existence of coup plot, and some suspected Mamboundou made the allegation in hopes of encouraging a delay in the elections.

The Court, observing that time had been needed to organize Bongo's funeral in June, ruled on 8 July that a delay was acceptable due to force majeure, but it said that the elections should still be held no later than 6 September.

[19] PDG Secretary-General Boukoubi, echoing Gondjout's earlier statement, said on 29 July that the demands for the resignation of the two ministers were not based on any "legal premise".

[23] Also on 2 August, Eyeghé Ndong denied claims that he resigned to stand as an independent candidate because he was a "sore loser"; he said that in fact he did so "because it was time that I listened to my conscience".

[26] Various candidates met with Interim President Rogombé in Libreville on 12 August to discuss issues related to the electoral process;[27] Prime Minister Biyoghé Mba was also present at the meeting.

The new party was part of the Presidential Majority, and Pendy Bouyiki planned for it to work to defend Ali-Ben Bongo and the PDG against the "very offensive" opposition.

[3] Daniel Ona Ondo, the First Vice-President of the National Assembly, said on Radio France International on 25 June that he intended to seek the PDG's nomination as its presidential candidate.

[34] He was the first person to confirm that he intended to seek the ruling party's nomination, although Eyeghé Ndong and long-time minister Casimir Oyé-Mba had previously signalled that they might do so.

[40][41] The Rally for Gabon (RPG), which was part of the Presidential Majority coalition (and formerly an opposition party), held its 11th Extraordinary Congress in Libreville on 12 July 2009 and unanimously chose its President, Deputy Prime Minister Paul Mba Abessole, as its candidate.

[43] The RPG stressed that it had no intentions of leaving the Presidential Majority, but also that Mba Abessole would not withdraw in favor of the PDG candidate prior to the elections.

[46] Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge, the Vice-President of Gabon and the President of the Democratic and Republican Alliance (ADERE), said on 21 July that he would not be a candidate.

[48] Having failed to win the PDG nomination, Eyeghé Ndong announced on 17 July that he was resigning as Prime Minister and would stand as an independent candidate.

[51] In a message to the nation on 14 August, immediately prior to the beginning of the campaign period, Rogombé urged calm and called for the candidates to be "worthy" of the votes they would receive.

[54] On 15 August, four minor candidates—Mauro Nguema, Jean Ntoutoume Ngoua, Claudine Ayo Assayi, and Marcel Ntchoreret—announced that they would be willing to withdraw in favor of a single opposition candidate.

[58] Continuing in his hunger strike in front of the National Assembly to press his demands for the resignation of the government and a delay in the elections, Moubamba's condition had sufficiently deteriorated by 22 August that he fainted and was involuntarily hospitalized by his campaign workers.

Eyeghé Ndong sharply criticized "the Bongo system", declaring that the people wanted "new governance" and an end to the "embezzling of public funds and illicit enrichment".

Nevertheless, despite widespread criticism of the way Omar Bongo had maintained support through handouts of money, it was observed that this practice was deeply ingrained in Gabonese society, and some believed it would be a difficult habit to break.

[61] Agence France-Presse described Bongo as "the overwhelming favorite" because he was the candidate of the most powerful and established political party in Gabon and because he had massive campaign resources at his disposal.

[70] Both Mamboundou and Mba Obame expressed concern that CENAP and the Interior Ministry could produce fraudulent results in Bongo's favor.

Only Bongo, Mba Obame, and Mamboundou won significant shares of the vote; with the exception of Zacharie Myboto, who placed fourth with 3.94%, all of the other candidates received less than 1% each.

[75] Boukoubi expressed "full satisfaction", saying that "right and the law have prevailed" and that Bongo would "get down to all the problems of the Gabonese people and make Gabon into an emerging country".

Yvette Rekangalt, a minor opposition candidate, dismissed the ruling, saying that the Constitutional Court was "like the Leaning Tower of Pisa—always tilted in one direction.

"[76] Eyeghé Ndong, speaking on behalf of an opposition coalition that included four of the candidates, denounced the recount results and declared that no one would believe that the Court made its decision in good faith.

He urged "the Gabonese people to fight injustice and other moves aimed at muzzling democracy and undermining its sovereignty", although he did not specify what form that resistance should take.

[4] Although protesters burned cars and set up barricades in Libreville, security forces were in clear control of the streets by the end of the day.

The French news agency AFP reported that people—even those who were supportive of the opposition—appeared unwilling to participate in the strike due to personal economic concerns.

Bongo expressed a commitment to justice and the fight against corruption at the ceremony and said that fast action was needed to "give back confidence and promote the emergence of new hope".