Gabon's government held an emergency meeting Tuesday, setting the stage for the country's chief lawmaker to take power following the death of the world's longest-ruling president a day earlier, according to AP. Cabinet ministers officially acknowledged the power vacuum, and the constitutional court is expected to do the same soon, said government spokesman Renee Ndemezo'o Obiang. Both steps are necessary to transfer power to Rose Francine Rogombe, the chief legislator. Bongo, 73, died of cardiac arrest Monday at Spanish hospital where he had been treated for weeks. Bongo had dominated the oil-rich former French colony since becoming president more than four decades ago, in 1967. Obiang said the late president's body would be returned to Gabon on Thursday from Spain and the late president would be buried soon afterward in the central city of Franceville, capital of his native province. No date has been set for the funeral. Bongo was the only leader most Gabonese ever knew, and the government has sought to reassure its population the country will not degenerate without him. «We want the friends of Gabon to know that the country is functioning smoothly despite the president's absence,» Obiang told reporters. Late Monday, Ali Ben Bongo _ the late leader's son and defense minister _ went on national television to call for calm. The younger Bongo said he was speaking on behalf of his family, but the appearance has raised speculation he is positioning himself for a political run. The constitution calls for the head of the Senate to assume power and organize presidential elections within 90 days of Bongo's death. On Tuesday, the capital, Libreville, was calm and there was no significant sign of troops in the streets. Airport officials said flights had resumed after authorities sealed borders Monday. Since Bongo checked into the Spanish hospital last month, Gabonese officials had aggressively denied that he was ill, insisting he had gone to Spain to observe «a period of mourning» following the death of his wife in March. They initially denied he was in the hospital at all, then later said he had been admitted to the clinic, but only for a checkup. Just hours before announcing Bongo's death, Gabonese Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong held a news conference at the Quiron Clinic in Barcelona to say the president was alive.
