Gabon votes in referendum on new constitution after last year’s military coup | Election News

The reformist leader is urging voters to support the draft charter, which proposes reforms including presidential term limits.

Gabon will vote in a referendum on the adoption of a new constitution that will pave the way for democracy after the military overthrew President Ali Bongo Ondimba last year, ending his family’s 55-year rule in the oil-rich country.

About 860,000 registered voters are expected to vote Saturday on the draft charter, which proposes sweeping reforms in the central African country that would curb authoritarian rule and limit presidential terms.

The proposed constitution needs more than 50 percent of the votes to be adopted.

“We have a historic day,” said General Brice Oligui Nguema, the interim president who led the coup last year, in a post on social media X alongside a photo of himself in casual clothes and a baseball cap, holding a voting card. his hand.

Nguema has been encouraging voters to support the new constitution, which he says includes the military government’s commitment to conduct new studies in Gabon.

He promised to return power to the people after a two-year transition but did not hide his desire to win the presidential election scheduled for August 2025.

The referendum is seen as an important first step as the country seeks to transition to democracy since Bongo was ousted in August 2023. He had been in power since 2009, taking over the presidency from his father, Omar, who died that year after ruling the country since 1967. .

Bongo was overthrown after he was declared the winner of the election by the military and opposition parties which he said was fraudulent.

The new constitution will introduce two term limits for the presidency, remove the post of prime minister and recognize French as the official language of Gabon. It also states that family members cannot replace the president.

The president’s term will be set at seven years. The current charter allows for five-year renewable terms without limitation.

Nathalie Badzoko, 33, a civil servant, told AFP news agency that she was voting “yes” and believed in the military government, but admitted that she had “not read the whole document” and its 173 articles.

Opponents dismissed the draft charter as designed to keep a strongman in power.

“We are creating a dictator who designs a constitution,” said lawyer Marlene Fabienne Essola Efountame during a debate last Sunday, which was organized by state television.

Nguema, the interim leader, is Bongo’s cousin. He has served as Bongo’s father’s bodyguard and also led the Gabon Republican Guard, an elite military unit.

Voting started late at many polling stations in the capital, Libreville, including the Lycee Leon M’Ba school where green ballot papers – for yes – and red – for no – were still being issued when the polls opened at 7am (06:00). 00 GMT), according to AFP.

The country’s 2,835 polling stations must remain open until 6pm (17:00 GMT).

The final results will be announced by the constitutional court, said the Ministry of Interior.

The former French colony is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. About 40 percent of Gabonese people aged 15 to 24 were unemployed in 2020, according to the World Bank.