The pan-African NGO Afrique Espérance has hailed the referendum in Gabon on November 16, 2024, saying that it was “peaceful and inclusive”, and a demonstration of the sustainability of the legislative framework for the 2025 presidential elections.
In the statement in Abidjan on Thursday, November 21, the Afrique Espérance NGO “appreciates the peaceful and inclusive climate of the referendum vote on November 16, 2024,” noting that the vote was “effectively held on the right date and in the best possible conditions of preparation.”
The observation mission, led by Joseph Amavi Anani, a member of Benin’s National Assembly and a member of the Bloc Républicain political party, “noted with satisfaction that most of the polling stations it visited, both in Gabon and in the diplomatic missions visited, opened on time.”
Joseph Anani was assisted by Charles Oyéoussi Balogoun, an international electoral expert and Chairman of the Board of Directors, to support the democratic process launched by the new transitional authorities in Gabon.
According to the international observer mission, “the Gabonese people actively participated in the electoral process in a calm, orderly and disciplined manner, demonstrating a strong sense of civic duty.” In addition, “the referendum was generally characterised by respect for the laws and regulations that constitute the legal framework for these consultations.”
The NGO Afrique Espérance also praised “the great spirit and commitment of all the parties involved, which made it possible to organise a peaceful and very inclusive ballot, marking a major return to peace and national cohesion.”
It noted that “the electoral period was marked by moments of celebration and joy, celebrated in a spirit of conviviality and fraternity throughout the campaign, with more or less balanced access by the candidates to the public and private media.”
The Mission deployed 11 international electoral experts from several African countries, including Benin, Liberia and Togo. It was deployed in cooperation with the partners of the NGO Afrique Espérance in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Liberia.
In terms of recommendations, the NGO Afrique Espérance calls on the Gabonese authorities to “revise the legal framework for future elections (electoral code) and create a single, more inclusive, participatory and consensual institution to prepare and manage the forthcoming electoral process (along the lines of CENI, CENA).”
It also recommends that the country’s leaders “audit and revise the electoral register and transform it into a permanent computerised electoral register, then digitise the electoral system in order to improve the reliability of the process and the compilation of election results, and carry out a technical audit of the biometric tablet, which suffers from a number of shortcomings.”
For the NGO, the use of the biometric tablet should speed up the voting process and ensure the reliability of the vote. It also recommends “the drafting of a law on the financing of electoral campaigns” to ensure a fair vote.
At the invitation of the Gabonese government, and through the Special Commission in charge of receiving and supervising observers for the 2024 constitutional referendum, Afrique Espérance played an active role in the referendum, which was held throughout Gabon and in diplomatic missions.
Afrique Espérance is a pan-African organisation with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It is an observer member of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and a partner of the International Institute for Human Rights of the René Cassin Foundation in Strasbourg, France.
AP/lb/gik/APA