Nairobi/Libreville  - Gabon's electoral commission on Wednesday was meeting with candidates and political party leaders as it prepared to announced the results of Sunday's presidential elections.

Gabon went to the polls on Sunday to elect a successor to Omar Bongo, who ran the oil-producing nation for over 41 years until his death in June.

Three of the candidates claimed victory Monday, raising tensions in the capital Libreville.

Representatives of Bongo's son Ali-Ben, former interior minister Andre Mba Obame and Pierre Mamboundou of the Gabonese People's Union all claimed they had gained enough votes for victory.

The electoral commission convened the meeting with the candidates at 1400 GMT and was not expected to announce a winner until late in the evening.

Ali-Ben, who has the support of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) and by extension the army and police, is considered favourite to win the race.

Voter turnout was high in the tiny West African country of 1.5 million. The election passed off peacefully, although there were some complaints of irregularities.

Omar Bongo ruled virtually unchallenged and gained the record of being the world's longest serving leader - no mean feat in a part of the world where coups have long been commonplace.

He was viewed as one of the ultimate political survivors, using corruption, cronyism and lashings of oil money to keep himself at the top for more than 40 years.

Bongo died as French authorities were investigating whether he had used hundreds of millions of dollars of Gabonese public funds to buy dozens of lavish properties in France. Most of the country's 1.5 million citizens live in poverty.  dpa