At the presidential palace in Libreville, on the same platform where eight months earlier he was invested as head of the transition, General Brice Oligui Nguema put on his officer's uniform for this moment which he sees as a decisive step in the construction of 'a new Gabon. At the head of the coup d'état which overthrew Ali Bongo Ondimba in August 2023, the country's new strongman was presented, on Tuesday April 30, by the Archbishop of Libreville who chaired the work, the report drawn up at the outcome of the Inclusive National Dialogue. A month-long consultation during which 580 people appointed by the general himself debated the content of the next Constitution.
While the assembly chanted "Oligui, president" and the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, designated facilitator of the Gabonese transition, applauded the work which will, he said, "lay the foundations of a New Gabon, solid, united, democratic and more united than ever", in one of the rooms of the seaside palace, some senior officials of the regime officially discovered the reform proposals put forward by the participants.
" Separation of powers "
The day before, certain recommendations such as that suggesting the suspension of political parties or the ineligibility of executives of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG, party of ousted president Ali Bongo) in the next elections had leaked to the press, sparking numerous comments. However, of the 580 participants, more than 300, civilians and military alike, came from administrations appointed by the junta in which many leaders of the regimes of Omar Bongo, president for forty-one years, and his son Ali, who remained in power for more than fourteen years.
If investigations are recommended against the “former and current” executives of the CEO, the dialogue further opens the way to a continuation in power of General Oligui Nguema, whose ambition to be elected during the election scheduled for August 2025 seems to more and more obvious.
Among the thousand proposals, none addresses the eligibility of the current head of the transition. On the other hand, that of eliminating the post of prime minister could lead Gabon into a hyper-presidential regime. “The President of the Republic will therefore be the head of government. This would seriously harm the separation of powers,” judges Jean-Gaspard Ntoutoume Ayi, Director General of Debt at the Ministry of the Economy and member of the Inclusive National Dialogue office.
Beyond these proposals for institutional reforms, there is a theme that ran through this month of consultation: that of national preference. The proposals to establish a quota of foreigners in Gabon, to restrict eligibility or even to strengthen the conditions of access to nationality were among the most applauded by the assembly gathered at the presidential palace.
" Foreign Legion "
The August 2023 coup was justified as a fight against the “foreign legion”, which ruled the country. Firstly, Sylvia, the French wife of the deposed president, and Nourreddin, their son, both accused of having taken over the wealth of this small oil state and of controlling its political life.
“The Gabonese have been hurt and now want to lock down and secure their administration and public life that Ali Bongo had made available to foreigners,” judges François Ndong Obiang, first vice-president of the National Assembly of the Transition, all considering that “we must not fall into protectionist excesses and create second-category nationals”.
President Brice Oligui Nguema announced that, in the coming days, a committee to monitor and follow up on the conclusions of the Inclusive National Dialogue will be appointed by him. According to the timetable promised by the head of the transition, this committee will have a month and a half to draft the Constitution which will be submitted to a referendum at the end of June or the beginning of July.
