The holding of this referendum is supposed to mark the penultimate step before the return to constitutional order, since the overthrow, on August 30, 2023, of President Ali Bongo Ondimba by a military coup.
But the text is not unanimous and the head of the ruling junta, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, is suspected of trying to stay in power. The new Constitution which will be submitted to a referendum contains 173 articles.
It establishes a seven-year mandate, renewable only once, for the President of the Republic, with a presidential system endowed with strong executive power. Also, the new fundamental law does not provide for the position of Prime Minister and prohibits the dynastic transmission of power.
According to Apoli political analyst Bertrand Kameni, “Gabon is experiencing a historic moment, if we take into account the past half-century of history.”
He adds that “Things will follow the course of the new authorities, because for many Gabonese people, the army has produced more successes in one year than the old regime in two mandates.”
Article 2 of this draft Constitution considers the date of the coup d'état led by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema as a “Liberation Day” which marks the fall of the Bongo dynasty after 55 years in power.
Douglas Yates, political scientist at the American Graduate School in Paris, maintains that “the new Constitution which was proposed to the Gabonese people contains many positive elements. They are the fruit of the national dialogue that Nguema held in the spring of this year.”
The mandate of the new President will be limited, to avoid a repeat of the Bongo dynasty. Additionally, any family members of the new president will not be allowed to inherit the presidency or hold other important government positions.
No consensus
However, several provisions of this draft Constitution do not achieve consensus. For example, the one which indicates that you must be between 35 and 70 years old to be a candidate for the presidential election. No supporters also believe that this draft text was tailor-made to allow General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema to retain power at the end of the general elections, in particular the presidential election next year.
A budget of 27 billion CFA francs, a little over 41 million euros, was released by the transitional government for the organization of this referendum.
