Secretive Constitutional Revisions Could Harden Gabon’s Political Divisions

Secretive Constitutional Revisions Could Harden Gabon’s Political Divisions
Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba attends an event at the EU-Africa summit, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, Nov. 29, 2017 (AP photo by Diomande Ble Blonde).

Last week, the National Assembly of Gabon passed a bill that would revise the country’s constitution. It did so with as little fanfare as possible. As AFP noted, the news went unmentioned on state media, and the official who confirmed it to the agency declined to give his name.

This is perhaps unsurprising given that President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s government has kept the actual substance of the revisions under wraps as well, opting not to make the bill public even though the Cabinet approved it back in September before sending it to lawmakers. Multiple versions have circulated online, but the government has not addressed their authenticity.

Regardless of whether the state deigns to discuss them, the bill, which now needs to go to the Senate, is the talk of Gabon’s political class. The Central African nation doesn’t have a presidential term limit, so there’s no need for Bongo to mimic other African leaders who have tried to change the rules so they can stay in power. But government critics have denounced the proposed revisions as an attempt to grant even greater authority to the president at the expense of the legislature and oversight bodies. Last month, Jean Ping, who narrowly lost the 2016 presidential election to Bongo, told his supporters that the government’s endeavor “carries the seeds of the republic’s liquidation.” He and other opposition politicians have claimed the bill would establish a monarchy in place of Gabon’s young, fragile democracy.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.