For weeks of Gabon President Ali Bongo in medical treatment. Now, the powers of the Vice-presidents be expanded to “ensure the continuity of the state”. The Opposition sees the critical.
Gabon President Ali Bongo left behind a power vacuum
The Gabonese President is treated for three weeks at the King Faisal hospital in the saudi Arab Riyadh. In the meantime, there was talk of a stroke, this remained unconfirmed. A date for the return of the President to Gabon are not yet available. The spokesman of the presidency, Ike Ngouoni, informed, however, that Ali Bongo was “in the term, the entirety of his physical abilities to regain”.
In a decision dated Wednesday, the constitutional court has found to be its President Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo now the “temporary unavailability” of the head of state and a relevant paragraph for this case, in the Constitution, supplemented. The decision followed an Initiative of Gabon, Vice-President Pierre-Claver Maganga Moussavou. The had appealed to the constitutional court to decide on the articles 13 and 16 of the Constitution in respect of the existing power vacuum. The court should determine who the chair of the Council of Ministers for the treatment of urgent matters in the “temporary absence” of the President have lead to.
New choice of words: The Opposition to listen
“In the case of temporary unavailability of the President of the Republic, certain assigned functions can be exercised either by the Vice-President of the Republic or by the Prime Minister with special approval by the constitutional court, the call of the Prime Minister or one-tenth of the deputies, members of the government, if necessary.” The new section in the basic law. The Vice-President of the Republic, Pierre-Claver Maganga Moussavou, is now empowered to assume the presidency of the Council of Ministers. The court explained that this decision had been taken “to ensure the continuity of the state and the public service”.
Opposition Leader Jean Ping
The Opposition denounced the step as an attempt to get the Power in favour of the Bongo clan. Political scientist André Adjo explained: “The court has not adopted provisions that existed before. Regardless of whether the absence or at least the inability to act of the President is permanently or temporarily.” The point is that there are already measures for such a case in the Gabonese Constitution. In the case of the “vacancy” of the presidency due to resignation, death, or health-related restrictions of the President, new elections would be convened within 30 days. “But the court has taken the liberty, in a different scenario,” said Adjo – go to the “temporary availability”. A time frame for representation is missing in the new scheme.
For five decades, family-owned
It could be a while Bongos absence of a military coup, the political scientist Wilson Andre Ndombet unlikely. “The presidential guard is led by Grégoire Kouna, the Cousin of the Gabonese President. Since the 1960s, there was no military coup in Gabon.”
Ali does not recover Bongo from his illness, this could mean the end of five decades of the control of his family, the presidency and the resources of Gabon. Father Omar Bongo, had ruled the country from 1967 until his death in 2009. However, the Assumption of the office of the President by another member of the family is largely ruled out, says Louis Kemayou, Cameroonian political Analyst: “There are in the family, no member is able to replace Ali Bongo. The reason for this is simply that none of his children is in a Position that is influential enough to claim the presidential post.”
The Opposition of the ruling Democratic party (PDG) of President-in-office will not allow this to happen, says Kemayou. All of the Party, Jean Ping, who was put under despite a political career in the United Nations and the African Union, Ali Bongo, in the elections of 2016, almost. “The population will not accept that,” said the Analyst. “I think that there is a good Chance that the Bongo dynasty is at the forefront of Gabon with Ali Bongo.”
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