Gabon transition timetable sparks debate

LIBREVILLE, Gabon 

Announced by the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions and then adopted by the Council of Ministers, the timetable for the major stages of the transition in Gabon will reach its conclusion in August 2025.

Between satisfying the legitimate expectations of the people, to whom the military have made many promises, and meeting the demands of the international community, a lot is expected of the current government.

"CTRI is going to have to come clean. Because, quite simply, after two years, Gabon runs the risk of being hit by the international financial institutions, which suspend all aid in the event of a military regime", says Roland Désiré Aba'a Minko, former political prisoner. 

"The situation in Gabon was a political crisis. Twenty-four months seems reasonable enough to put in place the instruments of governance," added Yvon Martial Ntzantzi Miyagou. 

"Rushing things could lead us back to the behaviours that led to the coup d'état yesterday," defended Serge William Akassagha, 1ᵉʳ deputy mayor of Libreville. 

In addition to the presidential election scheduled for August 2025, the main highlights of this timetable are the inventory of issues and synthesis of proposals, the holding of a referendum to adopt a new constitution, and the reform of the Electoral Code. But for this Ethics policy analyst, the military will be judged by the extent to which their announcements are respected.

"The man in power has already been in power, the only thing new is that he wants to be given the benefit of the doubt. And perhaps he's thinking that, we can do better. But in this case, we first wait for to see what is done, before giving it esteem and credit," explained political ethics analyst, Modeste Abagha Assecko.

Although 2025 has been proposed by the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions as the date for the presidential election, and therefore for the end of the Transition in Gabon, CTRI nevertheless recalls that it is up to the Gabonese people to decide on the feasibility of this timetable during the national dialogue due to be held in April 2024.