The President of Gabon, Ali Bongo, announced Monday that the terms of office of elected officials will be limited to a maximum of five years, as part of a dialogue with the opposition in view of the upcoming elections in the African country.
Bongo said in a speech at the opening ceremony of the consultations that the constitution will be amended so that all elected officials’ terms of office will be limited. At present, the president’s term of office is seven years, while that of senators is six years.
However, the Gabonese president did not comment on whether a term limit will also be introduced, a request of the opposition, given that at present anyone can stand for election indefinitely.
He has also indicated that both the opposition and the government party will present a list of 30 people in view of the beginning of the national consultation, with a deadline of this Tuesday for this act, as reported by the news portal Gabon Actu.
The contacts will be extended over the next few days and will result in a series of recommendations which, according to Bongo, will be implemented in an attempt to reduce the differences between the government and the opposition.
The process of contacts, which began in the capital, Libreville, was convened by Bongo himself. During the same, the Minister of the Interior, Noel Lambert, asked for a rapprochement of positions in order to «avoid slips which have sometimes saddened many Gabonese families at the end of the proclamation of the results of the presidential elections», as reported by the Gabonese state news agency, AGP.
Bongo came to power in 2009 upon the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for 41 years, after winning an election that was criticized by the opposition. In 2016 he was re-elected in an election whose results were not recognized by his rival, Jean Ping.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
