Early reports say a majority of voters in Gabon cast ballots to end military rule

Yaoundé, Cameroon  — 

Early results bespeak a bulk of Gabon's 860,000 registered voters formed ballots successful favour of a caller constitution that could extremity subject rule, according to authorities TV reports.

The results of Saturday's law referendum could extremity the transitional subject authorities that ousted the Bongo household dynasty aft astir 60 years of rule. An authoritative tally is expected later.

Officials accidental the adoption of the caller constitution is 1 of the large promises made by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema aft seizing powerfulness successful what Gabon's subject leaders telephone a bloodless August 30 coup that liberated the cardinal African authorities from governmental bondage.

Nguema seized powerfulness from Ali Bongo, who was declared the victor of Gabon's August 26 elections with much than 64% of the vote.

Gabon’s subject said the coup marked an extremity to the astir 56-year Bongo dynasty, during which Omer Bongo Ondimba ruled Gabon for 42 years since 1967 and handed powerfulness to his son, Ali Bongo, successful 2009.

Gabon’s subject said it deployed troops Saturday to towns and villages and reinforced a dusk-to-dawn curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. to marque definite civilians were protected before, during and aft the voting.

Serge Zeng Ango is enforcement caput of the National Union, a governmental enactment that campaigned for Gabon citizens to ballot successful favour of a caller constitution during the referendum.

Ango said the caller constitution volition enactment an extremity to immoderate accidental of different governmental dynasty wherever powerfulness was passed from begetter to son, arsenic during the Bongo era.

Unlike successful the past erstwhile powerfulness was confiscated by a fewer people, said Ango, the caller constitution is reassuring that eventual powerfulness resides successful civilians who tin freely ballot for their leaders and lend to the improvement of their nation.

He said those who voted successful favour of Gabon's caller constitution are blessed that nonfiction 42 of the instrumentality states that astatine the extremity of the word of office, the president, his oregon her spouse and descendants cannot beryllium candidates for succession.

But absorption and civilian nine accidental the draught constitution should person prohibited subject ruler General Nguema from moving for president. They said subject leaders prepared the constitution to assistance excessive powerfulness to the president due to the fact that they privation Nguema to support his grip connected power.

Jean-Victor Mouanga Mbadinga is simply a erstwhile statesmanlike aspirant and person of the Movement for Social Emancipation of Gabon's civilians, 1 of Gabon's governmental parties.

He said by suppressing the station of premier minister, the cardinal instrumentality of 173 articles transforms Gabon into a state wherever the president has excessively overmuch power. He said it is unfortunate that Gabon is expanding the statesmanlike word bounds from 5 to 7 years, renewable once, erstwhile successful the United States of America — a satellite ideology that the cardinal African authorities should emulate — presidents service for nary longer than 2 elected 4-year terms.

Mbadinga said it is abnormal for Gabon's constitution to springiness powers to the president to either dissolve parliament, which is the legislative limb of government, and to prosecute and occurrence a vice president astatine will.

Gabon's absorption and civilian nine said they volition situation the result of the referendum successful the courts but did not springiness further details.

Gabon's authorities said Saturday's referendum was free, just and transparent.

Officials said the caller constitution would support idiosyncratic liberties, dissimilar during the Bongo begetter and lad era.

International observers from the African Union and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community said that, but for voting that began precocious owed to the precocious opening of polling stations, the elections were peaceful and transparent. Hundreds of voters turned retired astatine polling stations starting astatine 6 a.m. section time, according to observers.

Gabon's subject leaders said last results of the law referendum volition beryllium released by the law court, but neither provided a circumstantial clip oregon date.

After the work of referendum results, Nguema said, Gabon volition hole its electoral laws successful February, make an elections absorption body, and signifier presidential, parliamentary and section elections successful August 2025 to extremity a two-year transitional period.

The subject ruler has not said if Nguema volition beryllium a campaigner oregon not, but the constitution successful this referendum does not forestall him from moving for president.