Public statement  Posté le 13:09 22-08-2023, modifié le 13:09 22-08-2023 par Tournons La Page

For the first time in its history, Gabon will be holding general elections on 26 August 2023. The election of the President of the Republic, deputies and local councillors will take place at the same time.

Gabonese living outside the country, who have no representative in the National Assembly or local councils, only vote in the election of the President of the Republic.

Operations to revise the electoral roll took place from 09 May to 08 June 2023 with an extension from 09 to 11 June 2023 in Gabon and outside the country. 31 enrolment centres were deployed outside the country, as shown in the table below:

ELECTORAL ROLL REVISION CENTRES ABROAD (31):

According to Ordinance n°009/PR/2011 of 11 August 2011, in the event of an election of the President of the Republic or a referendum, polling stations shall be opened in all diplomatic and consular representations.

While Gabonese nationals have registered on the electoral roll in all the above-mentioned countries, circular note n°000895/MAE/SG/DGAC from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated 12 July 2023 but made public only a few days ago, announces that only 14 consular commissions have been selected for the presidential election. These are :

• Africa Zone :
  • Cotonou (Benin) ;
  • Yaoundé (Cameroon) ;
  • Brazzaville (Congo) ;
  • Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) ;
  • Rabat (Morocco) ;
  • Dakar (Senegal) ;
  • Lomé (Togo).
• America Zone :
  • Washington & New-York (United States of America).
• Asia Zone :
  • Beijing (China) ;
  • Beyrouth (Liban).
• Europa Zone :
  • Paris & Bordeaux (France) ;
  • London (Great Britain).

We note that many countries such as South Africa, Canada, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Germany, Switzerland, Tunisia and several large cities in which many Gabonese reside in the selected countries, do not have a consular electoral commission. This means that Gabonese nationals on the electoral roll will not be able to vote. The Gabonese government is thus depriving them of an inalienable right.

Furthermore, the note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not indicate the focus of each consular electoral commission. Do they cover all the countries and cities mentioned above, or are they limited to Paris, Bordeaux and London, to take the example of Europe?

In Europe, Gabonese in Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Marseille, Nantes, Lyon, Rennes, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Geneva, Monaco, Rome and the Vatican will not be voting. Their electoral cards are available, but there are questions about how they might be used.

It should also be noted that, with 4 days to go to the polls, the Ministry of the Interior, which is the custodian of the electoral roll, has still not made public the official results of the 2023 electoral roll revision operations. According to internationally recognised good practice, these results should be published by province/department/district/commune/canton/consular commission. This good practice promotes transparency and credibility and enables all stakeholders to follow the electoral process on the ground. The list of polling stations is not available either. This could help to explain why the Beirut consular commission has been maintained at the expense of those in Berlin, Strasbourg or Toulouse, for example.

Article 92 (law no. 10/98 of 10 July 1998) stipulates that any person registered on the electoral roll of a polling station and carrying a voter's card and one of the documents provided for in article 54 of this law may vote in that station. The new Article 75 (Law no. 004/2023 of 07 May 2023) states that voting takes place in polling stations determined by the administration.

The opening of polling stations is therefore a simple administrative decision. We are asking that this decision be taken to enable Gabonese citizens to exercise their right to vote, especially as they are on the electoral roll.

Tuesday, 22 August 2023
The Tournons La Page Europe Board

Press contact :

Laurence NDONG
E-mail : laurencendong@gmail.com – Tel : 06 48 24 99 30
Member of TLP-Europe
President of Debout Peuple Libre

Photo : Edmon Dantès