In Gabon, a few months before the constitutional referendum scheduled before the end of next December, the jurist and political scientist Marlène Fabienne Essola Efountame gathered several intellectuals last Saturday in Libreville for a conference-debate on Gabonese citizenship. In the background of this meeting, the recommendations of the National Dialogue of last April, several of which call into question the enjoyment of nationality of certain Gabonese and the ineligibility of certain others of the fallen regime.
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With our correspondent in Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma
At Gabonthe National Dialogue recommended limiting access to certain functions depending on whether one is a native Gabonese or a Gabonese by origin. A lawyer by training, Marlène Fabienne Essola Efountame suggests that this recommendation be purely and simply abandoned. For her, this conference debate aims to attract the attention of the editors of the future constitution.
” The nationality code of the Gabonese Republic is clear. According to Article 3, Gabonese are considered in the same way. There is no difference between native Gabonese and Gabonese of origin. I think that common sense would dictate that we not take this into account at all. “.
A recommendation that has been particularly criticized
Marlène Fabienne Essola Efountame, author of the book “ the Republic is me ” published in July 2022, also protests against the recommendation of the National Dialogue which suggested the ineligibility for three years of the executives of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), the former ruling party and its allies.
” In the name of what, in a State that claims to be governed by the rule of law, we will decide to restrict the rights of an individual, when there is no criminal conviction, which he would be likely to have as a supplementary penalty. This would really be an attack on individual freedoms and public liberties. “.
The conference ended with a desire to perpetuate living together in Gabon in order to maintain national cohesion.
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