Voting began on Saturday morning in Gabon for a referendum on a new constitution proposed by the military government led by General Brice Oligui Nguema, president of the transition government.

More than 2,800 polling stations have been set up to serve 860,000 registered voters in this Central African country of more than 2 million people.

Voting will run until 6 p.m. under the supervision of electoral commissions established by the Ministry of the Interior, which assured that it has taken all necessary steps to guarantee the utmost transparency by inviting international observers.

As a reminder, the electoral campaign for today’s vote began on November 6, led by Transition Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima.

Among other things, the new constitution establishes a 7-year presidential term that can be renewable once, and there shall be no prime minister but a vice-president appointed by the president.

Essentially, the document absolves the putschists in power from any form of prosecution and conviction.

Once the referendum process is completed, a presidential election will be held in August 2025.