Election crisis mediators from the African Union (AU) have postponed their trip to Gabon, which was slated for Friday, to a later time in the future.
Gabon's Foreign Minister Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet said on Thursday that the AU delegation, chosen to resolve the post-election dispute in Gabon, has delayed its trip until further notice.
Reports say Chad's President Idriss Deby, who heads the delegation and had just returned from a G20 summit in China, was suffering from fatigue and was not able to make the trip.
There were no immediate comments from Chad or the African Union on the report.
Gabon, a resource-rich former French colony, is trapped in a post-presidential election dispute.
On one side of the dispute is incumbent President Ali Bongo, who was declared winner of the August 27 election by electoral officials.
On the other side is the long-time politician and opposition leader, Jean Ping.
Ping says there was a “clear anomaly” in the results, which he has described as “fraudulent.”
The opposition leader has called for a recount, urging people to “use all means of resistance to topple” Bongo.
Both sides, however, have reportedly agreed to let the Constitutional Court determine the true winner of the election.
The country has been the scene of deadly post-election violence since August 31, when Bongo was declared the winner of the presidential election.
Several people have been killed and over 105 others injured in the violence triggered by the results. Over 1,000 others have also been arrested.
Ali Bongo rose to power as president in 2009 following the death of his father Omar, who had ruled the country for 42 years.