In Gabon, the constitutional revision project launched by the government at the end of last week is still in focus for political debates. On Tuesday, about 20 representatives of opposition parties and civil society delivered a joint statement in which they rejected it.
as reported from Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma
If the draft revision is adopted, the interim administration of the President of the Republic in the event of a vacancy will be secured by the President of the National Assembly, his colleague from the Senate and also the Minister of Defense. It is above all the last point that feeds the controversy, but there is also the immunity granted to the President and parliamentarians of the Republic even after their functions have ended.
It was therefore on Tuesday evening that these opposition leaders and civil society leaders published their statement. They acknowledge from the outset that the immunity granted to the Head of State and the parliamentarians is a guarantee given to them “to protect them in the exercise of their mandate”, but “extending it beyond this period is a departure.” torture or criminal acts (…). Which is unacceptable, they say. And they insist: no “constitutional manipulation can save prosecution.” That’s why they call for “a national mobilization to block the way to this Machiavellian plan“.
Earlier in the afternoon, the spokesman for the presidency of the republic called the press. Jessye Ella Ekogha accused the opposition of wanting to manipulate opinions. He recalled that Article 78, which provides that “the President of the Republic who has ceased to be responsible may not be questioned, prosecuted, investigated, arrested, detained or tried” already existed in the Constitution revised in 2018. This text provides that the President of the Republic may tried for “violation of his oath or high treason”, while the Supreme Court will be able to convict him of other crimes, which according to Jessye Ella Ekogha, “More restrictive for the head of state”.
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