Saturday November 16, 850,000 Gabonese men and women were called to vote by referendum on the draft new Constitution desired by those in power. This comes just over 14 months after the overthrow of President Ali Bongo. After a calm day of voting, with little crowds and without major incidents, the polling stations closed at 6 p.m., leaving room for counting.
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With our correspondent in Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma
Shortly before 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. UT), the counting was almost finished at the Martine Oulabou school, in the second district of the Gabonese capital Libreville. Several rooms having no light, the counting was carried out by the light of mobile phones. Many voters hanging on the windows keep an eye on things. “ It’s a historic day, I wouldn’t want to be told about it “, exclaimed a disabled person, walking with the help of crutches.
Since the beginning of the afternoon, voters had no longer gone en masse to the polls in this polling station, unlike in the morning. Observers met in several polling stations reported a low turnout in Libreville and even within the country.
The vote was the first major electoral test for the military who took power more than a year ago. The organization is welcomed by voters, even if in Franceville, in the south-east of the country, observers were initially prevented from accessing certain voting centers. The incident was quickly resolved, everything returned to normal.
Calm reigns in the country. Time to wait for the official results, the date of which is not yet known. According to trends broadcast by public television Gabon 24, the participation rate could reach 70%.
Also readGabonese people vote to adopt or reject the draft Constitution