Gabonese Vote on New Constitution

Photo: Nao Mukadi Agence France-Presse A voter casts his ballot at a polling station during the Gabonese referendum in Libreville, November 16, 2024.

Harmony Pondy Nyaga – Agence France-Presse

Posted at 2:17 p.m.

• Africa

Green ballot for “yes”, red for “no”. Gabonese people began voting Saturday in Gabon on the new constitution, a little over a year after a bloodless putsch that ended the 55-year rule of the Bongo dynasty.

Coming to vote in a school in Libreville in civilian clothes — a brown jacket over light jeans — the president of the transition, Brice Oligui Nguema, cast his ballot and then placed his index finger soaked in red ink on his voter card.

“All Gabonese people come to vote in transparency […] it’s a huge step forward for the transition,” he told the press after the vote.

So that “the vote takes place in a climate of calm and peace,” the authorities have strengthened the curfew put in place since the putsch that brought him to power in August 2023.

“The curfew hours have been rearranged from midnight to 5:00 a.m. throughout the electoral process” — two hours earlier than the current curfew which begins at 02:00 -, according to the decree read on public television.

Read also

• Africa has been shaken by eight coups d'état in three years

On Saturday morning, polling stations opened at 7 a.m., with delays in some centers related to the distribution of electoral materials, AFP noted.

State television Gabon 24 itself delayed its special program on “the most anticipated day” by one hour, broadcasting in the meantime reports on the activities of the head of state and official spots on the transition calendar, which should lead, after the adoption of the new fundamental law, to the holding of a presidential election in August 2025.

In the morning, lines of dozens of voters formed in front of the classrooms hosting the polling stations at the Leon Mba high school, under the eye of the soldiers and gendarmes responsible for security for the vote.

As they left the polls, the first voters expressed their satisfaction at having “fulfilled their civic duty,” like Maël Safou, 32, an electromechanic who called on Gabonese people to “turn out in large numbers to validate or invalidate” the new Constitution.

Many remained discreet about their vote, but the “yes” vote seemed to dominate the trend.

“I trust the president to validate a text that is good for the country,” said Nathalie Badzoko, a 33-year-old civil servant who had “not read the entire text” and its 173 articles.

Dominated by official propaganda, the campaign was marked by lively debates. Opponents of the text denounce a text tailor-made for the new strongman in power, his supporters say that we must move forward by voting “yes”.

For local media, the turnout rate is the main issue in the consultation.

To motivate voters, the government has increased its calls to vote in the media, on social networks and on billboards. At the last minute, two days of leave were granted before the vote and exceptional changes of polling station were authorized to “limit the hazards related to transport and weather” during the rainy season.

The draft of the new fundamental law establishes, among other things, a seven-year term renewable only once, with a presidential regime with strong executive power, without a prime minister but with a vice-president appointed by the Head of State, and a power to dissolve the National Assembly.

“Essor vers la bonheur”

The draft of the new Constitution requires that presidential candidates be exclusively Gabonese, born to at least one Gabonese parent by birth and married to a Gabonese person. A paragraph not included in the list of intangible provisions prohibits the spouse or descendants of the president from running as candidates.

The country's 2,835 polling stations must remain open until 6 p.m., before the results are counted and centralized at the Ministry of the Interior, which for the first time is responsible for supervising the process.

“We trust and this is a test,” warns Mathurin Bengone, a 45-year-old civil servant at the Ministry of Health. “If our vote is not respected, we will not vote again.” We will do as in previous years, abstention will increase,” he adds.

If the Constitution is adopted, the next step will be to hold a presidential election, currently scheduled for August 2025, to definitively end the transition born of the putsch of August 30, 2023.

General Oligui has promised to return power to civilians, but he does not hide his presidential ambitions by also promising a “rise towards happiness” for this country that is both rich in oil and heavily indebted.