In Gabon, the work of political consultation really begins on February 17, 2023 in Libreville. After the opening ceremony last Monday at the presidential palace by President Ali Bongo, there was a great cacophony on the list of participants as well as on the agenda of these meetings, the stated aim of which is to reach free, credible, transparent and peaceful elections.
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The government and the opposition in fact reject each other’s responsibility for failures during the start of the work.
In a statement on February 14, Lambert Noël Matha, Minister of the Interior, said that the opposition had failed to submit its consensual list of 30 members who were supposed to participate in the consultation. According to him, President Ali Bongo has even agreed to increase this quota to 40 representatives of the opposition and 40 for the presidential majority.
But, faced with the divisions of the opposition, the minister decided to choose the 40 opponents. This choice set fire to the powder. The opposition accused the power of maneuvering for its division, in order to truncate the results of the consultation.
In the process, several opponents announced their final withdrawal. This is the case of Alexandre Barro Chambrier. Paulette Missambo, a leading figure in the opposition and all the members of the Alternance 2023 platform she leads, have suspended their participation in the work.
Its work is due to end on February 23.
It is in this cacophony that the office of the Concertation was set up on Thursday. Opponent Davin Akoure of the Les Démocrates party has been appointed co-president with current Prime Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze on behalf of the majority.
According to the initial schedule, the work should end on February 23. There are only a few days left to tweak the electoral code and examine the opposition’s grievances on questions of electoral transparency.