KEY POINTS
- Gabon referendum supports seven-year presidential term reforms.
- Brice Oligui Nguema cleared to contest the 2025 elections.
- New constitution replaces the prime minister with the vice president.
Gabonese voters have approved a referendum extending the presidential term from five to seven years, a move aimed at restoring civilian rule after a military coup.
The change also clears the way for military leader Brice Oligui Nguema to run in the next presidential elections, scheduled for August 2025.
Gabon vote backs Nguema’s presidential candidacy
The reform, which also enables military leader Brice Oligui Nguema to run for president in the upcoming elections, received strong backing in the vote, with 92 percent of participants in favour.
Interior Minister Hermann Immongault confirmed the overwhelming support, though voter turnout stood at 54 percent, as reported by Gabon24, the country’s state broadcaster.
Gabon overhauls political system
The new constitutional framework introduces a major shift by replacing the prime minister’s position with that of a vice president, and instituting a seven-year presidential term, renewable once. Additionally, the reform establishes new eligibility criteria for presidential candidates, including a maximum age of 70 and a requirement for Gabonese nationality of both parents.
According to Business Insider Africa, once the constitution is fully implemented, the electoral process is expected to resume in August 2025, although the timeline could be adjusted as needed, according to Willy Giscard Ontsia, chief of staff at Gabon’s Ministry of Justice.
The changes mark a significant step in the return to constitutional order following last year’s coup, when Brice Oligui Nguema, 49, took control by ousting long-time president Ali Bongo just hours after Bongo was declared the winner of an election that would have extended his family’s 55-year rule.
Ali Bongo has been president since 2009, following his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the OPEC member nation from 1967 until his death in 2009.
