MADRID 17 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The initial projections of the constitutional referendum held this past Saturday in Gabon predict the approval of the series of measures proposed in the plebiscite to strengthen the presidential system in the African country.
The estimates presented by Gabon’s public television and collected by the newspaper ‘Le Confidentiel’ lean toward approval of the measures of the Gabonese authorities — particularly with regard to voting abroad — but until they exist Official results will have to continue taking into account previous surveys such as the one formulated by the Gabon24 network and which pointed to a rejection of 52 percent of those questioned.
The one who has declared himself convinced of the triumph of the ‘Yes’ is the leader of the country, the coup general Brice Oligui Nguema, leader of the August 2023 coup, which led to the overthrow of the Bongo family regime and a great beneficiary of a plebiscite that It would allow him to run in the elections if the referendum is approved, something that has been criticized by the opposition, which remembers that the military man promised a transition to a civilian authority.
“On this decisive day for our nation, I fulfilled my civic duty by participating in the referendum vote, an essential gesture to lay solid foundations for our return to constitutional order and build a new Gabon,” the general said in his account. of the social network X after depositing his ballot in the capital, Libreville.
Although there is no record of major incidents beyond certain attempts to prevent voting in areas such as Haut-Ogooué, a former Bongo stronghold, the authorities decided yesterday to extend the curfew in force in the country until 5:00 this morning . The Gabonese Ministry of the Interior estimates for now that turnout at the polls would have been around 70 percent.