In Gabon, the political consultation which brings together representatives of the majority and the opposition with a view to the next elections in 2023 is looking into the question of the duration of mandates. ” The discussions are bitter, are difficult on the subject, recognizes the Gabonese Prime Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze.
With our correspondent in Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma
In Gabon, it is a closed session that has lasted for a week: discussions between power and opposition on electoral transparency. The work of the political consultation opened a week ago has not evolved sufficiently. It was only on February 20, 2023 that the 40 representatives of the majority and 40 of the opposition got to the heart of the matter. They examined the issue of political mandates.
These debates on their limitation are heated, thus recognized the Prime Minister, Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze. ” The discussions are tough, are difficult because we are working on a subject which is itself difficultunderlines the one who is also president of the consultation on behalf of the majority. It is about the political question and there we are always on the point concerning the electoral mandates. It is a delicate subject but on which everyone puts forward arguments and we think we are hopeful that we will eventually find an agreement to obtain this harmonization desired by the Head of State. “.
The opposition prefers to remain discreet on the subject, for the moment
The opposition, for its part, wishes to remain discreet for the moment and wants to keep the content of the discussions secret. Séraphin Akure Davin, co-president on behalf of the opposition, explains: ” We have decided not to deliver the results of the discussions that are in progress, because we do not yet know what the final recommendations are on this or that point. So we prefer to wait until the end of the negotiations to tell you what we have reached. »
During the opening ceremony, President Ali Bongo announced the harmonization of political mandates. Currently, the mandate of the President of the Republic is 7 years renewable at will while the opposition wants it to be limited to 2, according to some participants. What the representatives of the majority categorically reject.
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