The curfew put in place in Gabon since the putsch which brought General Brice Oligui Nguema to power was reinforced on Saturday, November 16, so that the referendum on the new Constitution « takes place in a climate of tranquility and peace”according to a decree read on public television.
“The curfew hours are rearranged from 24 hours to 5 a.m. throughout the period of the electoral process” – two hours earlier than the current curfew which begins at 2 a.m. –, according to this decree.
The announcement was made during the special program on public television Gabon 24 dedicated to the day of voting on the draft new Constitution. It has not been specified whether the strengthening period runs until the publication of the provisional results or the final proclamation of the Constitutional Court.
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A tense political climate
Opponents of the draft Constitution denounce a text tailor-made for the new strong man in power, its supporters say that we must move forward by voting yes.
The country's 2,835 polling stations must remain open until 6 p.m. Saturday, before the counting and centralization of the results at the Interior Ministry responsible for supervising the process.
The Interior Ministry said the provisional results of the vote would be made public “as quickly as possible”without wanting to give any indication of day or time.
If the Constitution is adopted, the next step will be the holding of a presidential election, currently scheduled for August 2025, to put a definitive end to the transition born from the putsch which ended the fifty-five years of rule of the Bongo dynasty .
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General Oligui promised to return power to civilians at the end of the transition but he does not hide his presidential ambitions by also promising a “rise to bliss” to this country which is both rich in oil and heavily in debt.
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It was an hour after the proclamation of Ali Bongo's re-election for a third term, on August 30, 2023, that a military junta called the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions appeared on television to proclaim the “end of the Bongo regime”with accusations of electoral fraud and embezzlement of public funds.
