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Libreville, Sunday, September 1, 2024 (Gabon News) – The National Constitutional Council officially handed over on Saturday, August 31, at the Presidential Palace in Libreville, to the Transitional President the draft constitution, which will first be submitted to the Transitional Parliament to establish an electoral district before being submitted to the people through a referendum.
General Blaise Clotaire Origi Nguema receives the draft constitution from the President of the National Constitutional Council, Muriel Mincoué, the minister in charge of institutional reforms.
This text established the presidential system, with a seven-year term, renewable once. With the abolition of the office of Prime Minister, we saw the separation of powers in the two chambers of parliament (National Assembly and Senate), which could remove the President of the Republic if he committed treason.
He also has the power to dissolve both houses of parliament if any president wants to change the constitution for his own benefit and is removed from office. We also note the incompatibility between the functions of the members of the government and those of the parliamentarians who are responsible for controlling the executive branch.
Under the draft constitution, the presidency is reserved for people of Gabonese origin, that is, people with Gabonese parents. The constitutional framework also proposes elevating coup plotters to “heroes” and protecting them under an amnesty law.
As for the Constitutional Court, which has been in the headlines, its president will no longer be appointed by the President of the Republic, but will be elected by his peers. Here is the full summary by Murielle Minkoué epse Mintsa:
In form
The structure of the draft constitution is: 12 titles, 24 chapters, 12 sections, and 194 articles.
At the bottom
The draft constitution that we respectfully submit restores our values, strengthens our institutions, enshrines provisions that cannot be amended, reaffirms the Gabonese State’s commitment to protecting the environment and provides national protection for our 30 August heroes.
With regard to the restoration of our values, the draft constitution, while reaffirming the commitment of the Gabonese people to their values, sanctifies marriage as a union between two opposite sexes and obliges the State to promote this social concept in the textbooks of our children.
Furthermore, the project restores the dignity of the Gabonese people in terms of land by recognizing their exclusive right to individual land ownership. However, in order to take into account our country’s bilateral and multilateral partners, an exemption is provided for legal entities.
In terms of environmental protection, the project establishes the Gabonese State’s commitment to combat global warming and protect the environment, in line with our international commitments in this field.
Your Excellency the President of the Republic,
In terms of strengthening our institutions, the project establishes a single-head executive consisting of the President of the Republic and a bicameral Parliament, while taking care to avoid any situation that would hinder our institutions.
The legislative power has the traditional means of controlling executive action, voting on laws and various coercive measures, and the power to prosecute the President of the Republic in order to dismiss him in case of treason.
Furthermore, the project makes the functions of government members and parliamentarians incompatible. Finally, elected officials retain their powers after being expelled from a political party, guaranteeing the independence of parliamentarians in exercising their sovereign mission of controlling the executive branch.
The President of the Republic will now assume all executive powers together with the Vice-President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Government and all members of the Government. He has the power to dissolve the National Assembly, which appears to be a reaction to the parliament’s power to prosecute him.
The President is elected by two single-member ballots for a seven-year term, renewable once. Candidacy for this high office is specifically reserved for Gabonese whose parents are themselves Gabonese.
The judiciary was strengthened to enhance its independence.
While the President of the Republic remains in fact the President of the Supreme Council of Magistrates, assisted by the Minister of Justice and the Lord Chancellor, the office of Vice-President is now held by one of the Presidents of the High Court. Since judicial independence also requires budgetary autonomy, the project establishes financial autonomy for the three levels of jurisdiction.
The Constitutional Court’s mission as the guardian of fundamental rights and the Constitution was strengthened. Litigation against regulatory actions was withdrawn in the interests of the Administrative Court. The project was also innovative in that the President of the Constitutional Court was elected by his peers.
The nine Constitutional Judges shall serve for a term of eight years, two-thirds of whom may be re-elected, and no judge may serve for more than two (2) terms.
On the local authority side, the project reaffirms the devolved unitary state character of the project by innovating through annual grants to benefit local communities to promote development in our hinterland.
In terms of electoral governance, the project aims to bring the campaign accounts of electoral candidates under judicial control to ensure the legitimacy of resources and possible spending caps.
On the intangible side, the project contains clauses that cannot be amended in any way. These provisions affect, among other things, the number and duration of presidential terms. Even better, any sitting president who wants to amend these clauses will now be guilty of treason.
Finally, the project embodies the state’s protection of our heroes, the CTRI members, by providing not only for amnesty laws, but also for laws that define the advantages the state confers on them.
FIN/INFOSGABON/SM/2024
Copyright Information Gabon
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