Libreville: The government of Gabon announced on Monday that 18 other candidates will run against Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is the front-runner for a third term. 

The West African nation has been ruled by Bongo's family for 55 years. The 64-year-old, who succeeded his father Omar Bongo Ondimba in 2009, made his intention to run for office public in July. 

His main competitors for the top position are Paulette Missambo, the leader of the National Union, and Alexandre Barro Chambrier, a member of the opposition Rally for the Fatherland and Modernity (RPM) party.

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Despite the fact that both candidates are former ministers and members of the Alternance 2023 coalition, the opposition was unable to settle on a single candidate to oppose Bongo in the election on August 26.

The Gabonese parliament decided to change the constitution in April, cutting the president's seven-year term to five.

Some opposition members criticised the modifications, especially the end of the two-round voting process, for "facilitating the reelection" of Bongo.

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Alternance 2023 has opposed changes to the electoral code with less than five weeks until the elections.

Among them is a decision to allow a maximum of three observers at each polling place, one each for the opposition, the ruling majority, and all independent candidates.

Before, each candidate was permitted to designate an observer for each polling place. 

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The assertion that the majority and the opposition are on equal footing is a ruse. Francois Ndong Obiang, the leader of the Reagir party, said at a gathering of Alternance member parties on Friday that it "favours supposed opposition parties without any candidates or with very few."

Last week, the opposition was admonished by Prime Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze not to "throw oil on the fire." He wrote on Twitter, "Those involved must be careful not to throw oil on the fire in order to hold a calm election.

Strong majorities are held by Bongo's dominant Gabonese Democratic Party, or PDG, in both houses of parliament. In 2016, the president received just 5,500 more votes than his opponent Jean Ping, who alleged that the election had been rigged.   According to the government, the announcement of the results sparked violence in the capital city of Libreville that resulted in five deaths. According to the opposition, the security forces shot and killed 30 people.