Gabon senate head to become interim leader Wednesday

By Linel Kwatsi

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Gabon's constitutional court confirmed on Tuesday that Senate President Rose Francine Rogombe will become interim leader and steer the country to presidential elections after the death of veteran ruler Omar Bongo.

Rogombe will be sworn in as president on Wednesday, Marie Madeleine Mborantsouo, president of the court said. The confirmation eases concerns about a power vacuum after the death on Monday of Bongo, Africa's longest-serving leader.

"We want to send a strong message that despite the absence of the president, state institutions are still functioning," government spokesman Rene Ndemezo'o Obiang told Reuters.

Bongo's death in a Spanish clinic after more than four decades in power in the central African oil-producing nation raised concern about how the transition would be handled. He was 73.

The government has said it will respect the terms of the constitution, under which Rogombe, a Bongo ally in the ruling PDG party, is supposed to organise elections within 45 days.

But analysts say factions within the PDG will be jostling to work out who succeeds Bongo, with his son, Defence Minister Ali Ben Bongo, seen as a leading candidate.

Obiang said that Bongo's body would be repatriated for burial on Thursday.

Soldiers protected key administrative buildings in the capital Libreville, including the prime minister's office and state television headquarters, but their presence was low key and the city was calm, with many residents staying at home.