Gabonese constitutional referendum: Did you say change?
Dear compatriots, this is a decisive vote for the future of our country, let us remember why we are here.
On August 30, 2023, Gabon was experiencing a historic moment. Ali Bongo was overthrown, and the country seemed ready to turn the page on an opaque regime. A wind of renewal was blowing: justice, strengthened institutions, and a finally real democracy were promised to us by Brice Oligui Nguema and the CTRI. But today, as we prepare to vote for a constitutional text supposed to seal this change, it is legitimate to wonder if this hope was in fact only an illusion.
Same faces, same failures
Let us not lose sight of what led to the coup d’état and then to this draft Constitution. Gabonese institutions, under Ali Bongo, failed. For months, they were unable to oppose Sylvia and Noureddine Bongo, who held a sick man hostage to power. Worse still, these same institutions have still not brought to justice those responsible for this drift.
Today, these same men, who failed to protect Gabon from the abuses of a presidential family, are the ones supposed to guarantee transparency and the balance of powers in the face of Brice Oligui Nguema. But how could they?
- These leaders often have family and financial ties to the general.
- They enjoy privileges directly linked to its regime and governance.
- Their silence in the face of past abuses shows their inability to defend the national interest.
Can we really believe that they will oppose the dictatorial desires of a general at the head of an army of 5,000 men?
A text that perpetuates the status quo, or even worse
The constitutional project submitted to referendum was supposed to be a symbol of rupture. However, what does it really propose?
- The post of Prime Minister was abolished in favour of unprecedented presidential power.
- Access to power locked by even more restrictive conditions.
- Glaring absence of control mechanisms or separation of powers.
- No explicit anchoring of human rights in the Constitution.
In short, this text does not correct the excesses of the past, it aggravates them. It gives carte blanche to a general who had promised a simple transition. And yet, this man today concentrates in his hands a power much greater than that enjoyed by Ali Bongo.
A year and a half of disillusionment
Since the beginning of the transition, promises of transparency and exemplarity have been diluted in an ocean of scandals. Corruption, opacity of public finances, and resurgence of the old networks of the Gabonese Democratic Party. This specter of the past, far from being buried, seems to dance hand in hand with Brice Oligui.
Are we ready to endorse this alliance of the worst? A "yes" vote would amount to validating a system where everything has changed on the surface, but where nothing has really changed in depth.
A choice with heavy consequences
Gabonese men and women, this referendum is not a mere formality. Your vote is at stake for the future of our country. Saying "yes" to this text means accepting a regime where power remains concentrated in the hands of a small group of elites and an all-powerful military leader.
Remember what we wanted: real justice, strong institutions, a future free from the practices of the past. This text offers us none of that.
Today, vote with conscience. Your voice is your weapon against injustice. Use it to build a Gabon that lives up to your hopes.
