Gabon on Saturday held a referendum on whether the oil-rich West African nation should adopt a new constitution — a key step toward the return to civilian rule, where the country is run by elected officials rather than military leaders. 

Soldiers seized control of Gabon in an August 2023 coup, ending 56 years of the so-called Bongo dynasty, during which control of the presidency passed from one member of the Bongo family to another.

Former Gabonese President Ali Bongo had been set to extend his presidential tenure into a third term when the putsch occurred. 

The Bongo family first took the reins of power when Bongo's father, Omar, became president in 1967. Ali took control in 2009 after the death of Omar, who ruled Gabon for 41 years.

Unpacking the proposed constitution 

The draft constitution proposed by the ruling junta sets out a vision of a strong presidency that imposes a seven-year term, renewable once, with no prime minister and no dynastic transfer of power — as happened under the Bongo family.

It would shift Gabon from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, allowing the president to appoint members of the judiciary and dissolve parliament. 

Candidates for the head of state must have at least one Gabonese-born parent, hold no other nationality and be married to a Gabonese citizen.

These requirements emphasize "the distinction between native Gabonese and others, excluding naturalized Gabonese and dual nationals," as reported by the Gabon Review newspaper.

The draft also calls for a national holiday celebrating the downfall of the Bongo dynasty, according to media reports cited by news agency AFP.

It would also expand some civil and political liberties while limiting others, for instance, by defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and allowing for mandatory military service.

The proposed constitution has many positive elements, and is the fruit of the national dialogue held by military leader General Brice Oligui Nguema earlier this year, said Douglas Yates, a political scientist at the American Graduate School in Paris. 

The national dialogue had two main missions: to set the transition duration and to propose the political, economic and social organization of the nation's post-military rule.

"Family members of the new president, whoever that might be, will not be allowed to inherit the presidency or hold other important offices in government," Yates told DW, adding that many Gabonese people have had enough of dynastic rule.

Yates said the proposed requirement for the president to have Gabonese-born parents is designed to prevent the return of the Bongo dynasty to power. Bongo family members — for example Omar Denis Junior Bongo Ondimba and Noureddin Bongo Valentin, both sons of Ali Bongo — have different nationalities as part of their origins, said Yates. 

Noureddin's mother was born in France and has French-British ancestry, while Omar Denis Junior's mother was the daughter of the president of the neighboring Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso. 

How did Gabon get to this point?

Gabon's new political chapter started on August 30, 2023, an hour after the official announcement of Bongo's election to a third term since 2009. A military junta proclaimed his rule was over, denouncing what they said was a rigged poll.

The military dissolved the country's institutions and appointed 98 deputies and 70 senators to a transitional parliament, governed by General Nguema, who promised to restore civilian rule.

Gabon is Africa's third-richest country in terms of per capita GDP, but one in three people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

"Gabon is experiencing a historic moment," said Apoli Bertrand Kameni, a political scientist currently lecturing at the University of Freiburg. "Things will follow the course [set] by the new authorities because for many of the Gabonese the military has produced more achievements in one year than the old regime in two terms."

Nguema eyes Gabon's top job

Nguema has made no secret of his desire to win the presidential election penciled in for August 2025. All eyes are now on Gabon, according to political analyst Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at the London think tank Chatham House. 

"This is a step towards transition to full-fledged civilian rule [even though] the prime candidate — who will stand for elections — will be the military leader Nguema," Vines told DW.

"That is the reality, but from my analysis Nguema attracts significant popularity in Gabon, we also need to acknowledge."

According to Vines, Gabon appears to be on the fast track to return to constitutional rule — unlike the Sahel states of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso that have regularly postponed their promised elections, particularly Burkina Faso and Mali.

Around 860,000 voters are expected to cast their ballots across Gabon's 2,800 polling stations.

Authorities have assured that they have taken all measures to "ensure the greatest transparency" during the vote, including by inviting international election observers. A budget of 27 billion Central African francs ($44 million/€41 million) has been set aside for the organization of the referendum.

A new political chapter for Gabon?

Nevertheless, there are still some questions about the referendum: will this be a fair and free election? If there are reasonable results and the turnout is high, Yates said that would indicate that the referendum was valid. It would be a great symbol for the country, he added, ahead of the August election that Nguema might very well win.

"If he wins with a fair and free election, then Gabon has started the transition to civilian, democratic rule," he said.

Gabonese analyst Kameni didn't expect any particular problem for Saturday's referendum, but said then the real work needed to progress. Naturally the constitution is essential, he said, but on its own it cannot be enough to build a democratic society, adding that Gabon faces, like most African states, numerous challenges. 

The next few years will be important to uphold the rule of law and build a real democratic society, Kameni stressed.

"From this point of view the training of young people as well as the fight against social inequality seem to me to be decisive," he said.

Edited by: Keith Walker