Gabon: New constitution closes chapter on Bongo family’s reign
The Bongo family held power for 56 years
Originally published on Global Voices
Image of the Gabonese flag
On November 16, 2024, more than a year after military officers seized power in Gabon on August 30, 2023, Gabonese citizens will vote in a referendum for a new constitution.
Gabon has recently emerged from the Bongo family’s lengthy reign, which began in 1967 with the late President Omar Bongo and continued after he died in 2009 with the election of his son Ali Bongo. Everything changed in 2023 when a military coup d'état saw Brice Oligui Nguema, head of the Republican Guard, take over as transitional president, thus setting the country on a new trajectory.
Read: Military officers seize power in Gabon following disputed elections
On September 7, 2024, amidst an institutional reform, parliament presented a draft bill to the transitional president on the new constitution. A Radio France Internationale (RFI) article quoted some of the key changes featured in this bill:
l'instauration d'un régime présidentiel ; le président est élu pour un mandat de sept ans renouvelable une fois ; suppression du post de premier ministre. Le parlement peut être dissous par le président de la République et les députés et sénateurs peuvent aussi destituer le président de la République en cas de haute trahison.
The new constitution will introduce a presidential system, with a seven-year presidential term renewable only once, and abolish the post of prime minister. The president of the Republic may dissolve parliament, and members of parliament and senators may impeach the president in the event of high treason.
Moreover, the new constitution also recognizes military coup leaders as heroes under legislation that grants them amnesty and defines marriage as a union of two people of opposite sexes.
Reservations about some aspects of the reform
Opinions remain divided within civil society on the draft constitution, with some suggesting various amendments. These amendments mainly involve adopting a five-year term rather than seven.
In an interview with RFI, Sentiment Ondo, a Gabonese civil society spokesperson, explained:
Nos points critiques, ce sont naturellement les dispositions qui stipulent qu'il faut être né de père et de mère gabonais, eux-mêmes né Gabonais. Être marié à un Gabonais ou à une Gabonaise. La proposition émise par la société civile ici, c'est que cet article viole le Code de la nationalité applicable depuis les années 1960. Cette disposition, en outre, est discriminatoire et excessive.
Our main points of criticism relate to the provisions stipulating that presidential candidates must have Gabonese-born parents and be married to a Gabonese national. Civil society believes this article violates the Nationality Code, which has been in effect since the 1960s. This provision is also discriminatory and excessive.
Civil society also calls for the abolishment of the post of vice president and greater clarity on the conditions potentially leading to the president’s impeachment. Sentiment Ondo told RFI:
La proposition qui est faite [par les parlementaires], c'est d'inclure les crimes économiques et financiers, d'inclure la propagande ethnique ou régionale, les prises illégales d'intérêts, le blanchiment des capitaux, les crimes de sang et les répressions de manifestations, dans les motifs d'accusation du président.
Parliamentarians put forward a proposal to include economic and financial crimes, ethnic and regional propaganda, conflicts of interest, money laundering, blood crimes, and the suppression of protests as grounds for the president’s impeachment.
Read: Gabon: Transitional president inaugurated as ousted president released
Daniel Mengara, a politician and founder of the Gabonese political movement Bongo Doit Partir (Bongo Must Go), spoke out against this draft constitution:
Toute cette transition a été conduite pour introniser un seul homme (…) le général Oligui Nguema (…). Donc, nous demandons en réalité une vraie séparation des pouvoirs. Il faut (…)qu'on aille plutôt vers un système parlementaire parce que nous pensons qu'avec un Parlement puissant, avec un Premier ministre puissant, on peut assurer un minimum d'équilibre des pouvoirs. (…) nous avons passé 56 ans sous l’hyperprésidence. Le régime présidentiel ne nous a pas réussi sous les Bongo. Il ne nous réussira pas sous le général Oligui.
The whole transition process has been designed to enthrone one man, General Oligui Nguema. What we really need is a strong separation of power. We must move towards a parliamentary system as a strong parliament, and powerful prime minister would ensure a balanced distribution of power. We spent 56 years under hyper-presidentialisn. The presidential regime didn’t work for us under the Bongo family and won’t work under General Oligui.
However, many people also welcome this new constitution, which marks the end of the Bongo era. Such was the reaction of Ntsegue Laffite Joyce, the deputy executive secretary and spokesperson for Rally for the Fatherland and Modernity (RPM), a political party of which Gabon’s vice prime minister, Alexandre Barro Chambrier, is president. He posted on X ( formerly Twitter):
«Parmi les points positifs, cette Constitution va tourner la page d’une époque et ouvrir une nouvelle voie à notre pays. Elle consacre la garantie de l’alternance et la fin des mandats perpétuels.» @ABarrochambrier
Rentrée politique 2024 du RPM à Port-Gentil. #Gabon pic.twitter.com/Uiqv49cmId— Ntsegue Laffite Joyce (@laffite_n) October 27, 2024
“This constitution will mark the end of an era and set our country on a new trajectory. It guarantees political alternation and ends perpetual mandates.” @ABarrochambrier
The RPM’s 2024 political comeback in Port-Gentil. #Gabon pic.twitter.com/Uiqv49cmId— Ntsegue Laffite Joyce (@laffite_n) October 27, 2024
For the Gabonese people, the independence of the judiciary is one of the main areas of concern. Under the previous regime, Gabon’s justice system repeatedly came under fire. According to the 2024 Freedom in the World report by Freedom House:
Sous le gouvernement Bongo, les tribunaux étaient subordonnés au président. Le pouvoir judiciaire est responsable devant le Ministère de la justice, par l'intermédiaire duquel le Président est habilité à nommer et à révoquer les juges. La Cour constitutionnelle, la plus haute instance judiciaire du Gabon, était composée de trois membres nommés par le Président, deux par l'Assemblée nationale, un par le Sénat et trois par le Conseil supérieur de la magistrature (CSM).
Under the Bongo government, courts were subordinate to the president. The judiciary was accountable to the Ministry of Justice, through which the president had the authority to appoint and dismiss judges. Gabon’s highest judicial body, the Constitutional Court, was composed of three members appointed by the president, two by the National Assembly, one by the Senate, and three by the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM).
The electoral campaign begins
In late September 2024, parliamentarians included several amendments in this draft bill, including changes to the term in office. Paul Biyoghe Mba, a parliamentarian and member of former president Omar Bongo’s party, the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), strongly supports this new constitution. He believes such a reform will help avoid a trend where presidents seek a third term despite constitutional limits. He explained:
La durée maximale de mandat fixée est de deux fois sept ans. Comme on s'est rendu compte que dans les cas ou le mandat présidentiel est de deux fois cinq ans, les présidents veulent tous en avoir un troisième, là on dit : “Le chef de l'État peut rester au maximum 14 ans mais après, il s'en va !
Terms in office are not to exceed two seven-year terms. As it has become clear that presidents all seek a third in instances of two five-year presidential terms, the head of state can stay for a maximum of 14 years and then go!
The electoral campaign began on November 6, just ten days before the election itself. According to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Gabon ranked 94 out of 180 countries. The 2024 Freedom in the World report by Freedom House also highlighted:
Gabon’s electoral laws and framework have historically not ensured credible elections. The electoral commission, the Interior Ministry, and the Constitutional Court have all played important roles in managing elections, and all were loyal to Bongo.