washington — The Islamic State terror group’s small but influential affiliate in Somalia is growing, thanks in part to what the United Nations describes as an “influx of foreign fighters.”

A new report this week by the U.N. Sanctions Monitoring Team for Somalia warns that fighters, including some from countries in the Middle East, have helped the Islamic State’s Somali affiliate, also known as IS-Somalia, to more than double in size to between 600 and 700 fighters.

“Foreign fighters arrive in Puntland [Somalia] using both maritime and overland routes,” according to the report, which is based on intelligence estimates from U.N. member states.

The foreign fighters “have expanded and enhanced the group’s capabilities,” the report said, strengthening IS’s presence in Somalia’s Puntland region while also helping it take territory from its key rival, al-Qaida-linked terror group al-Shabab.

Intelligence sources described the IS-Somalia advance, especially in Puntland’s Cal Miskaad mountains, as a “drastic change,” crediting the foreign fighters for IS-Somalia’s change in fortune.

The U.N. report said the IS foreign fighters have come from at least six countries: Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Sudan, Morocco and Tanzania. It also said some captured foreign fighters have reported working with trainers who have come from parts of the Middle East.

The new report builds on previous warnings from U.S. and Somali officials, including the commander of U.S. Africa Command, who told VOA last month that IS-Somalia had grown “twofold” over the past year. 

Somali officials have likewise warned of hundreds of foreign fighters flocking to Somalia to join the ranks of the IS affiliate.

“This reporting on an influx of foreign terrorist fighters in Africa is concerning,” said Austin Doctor, the director of counterterrorism research initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center.

And while the flow of foreign fighters to Somalia pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of fighters who flocked to join IS in Syria and Iraq during the height of the terror group’s self-declared caliphate, Doctor told VOA the trend is likely to continue.

“A number of factors present in the Horn [of Africa] and other Africa regions as well will likely appeal to aspiring travelers looking to join the rank and file of an extremist militant organization,” he said. “Global and local security forces should prepare to see more of this in the near term.”

There are likewise concerns about IS-Somalia’s growing prominence on the global stage.

Since 2022, Somalia has been home to al-Karrar, one of nine regional Islamic State offices established to help sustain the terror group’s global capabilities.

The U.N. report cautions that despite some leadership losses, the al-Karrar office has become both more powerful and more decentralized, making it more difficult to disrupt its activities.

And the report confirms that former IS-Somalia leader Abdulqadir Mumin, who escaped a U.S. airstrike this past June, has been elevated to head of the Islamic State’s general directorate of provinces, “placing him in a leadership role over [IS] affiliates in Africa.” 

IS-Somalia, according to the report, is now being led by Mumin’s former deputy, Abdirahman Fahiye Isse, with Abdiwali Waran-Walac running IS-Somalia’s finances.

And the group’s finances appear to be in good shape.

“Given the relatively small size of [IS]-Somalia, the group can sustain itself and generate additional revenue for other [IS] affiliates through the al-Karrar office,” the report said.
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Abuja, Nigeria — Nigeria concluded a three-day conference Wednesday to mark National Mining Week. Authorities in the West African nation have been seeking to expand investments in the mining industry in a bid to diversify the economy, amid the global surge in demand for minerals. 

The conference, attended by government officials, mining industry players and international investors, was part of the Nigerian government’s campaign to boost not only mining, but also local processing of the minerals extracted.

Earlier this year, the Nigerian government said new investors will be required to set up local processing plants if they want to obtain a mining license. 

Mary Ogbe, permanent secretary of the mining and solid minerals industry, spoke about the impending changes.

“Before now, people will come in, cart away our minerals and go and refine [them] and bring [them] back and then we’re paying so much on what belongs to us,” she said. “Now, with the local value addition, no one is allowed to legally carry out our products without adding value. Now, this is creating jobs.”

Nigeria has rich deposits of more than 40 minerals, including tin, iron ore, lead, zinc and gold. The country is also a new source of lithium, a metal used in batteries and electric vehicles.

But the country’s minerals are often illegally exploited and exported without generating much revenue locally. 

At the summit authorities pledged to address the problem by investing in mining technologies, surveillance, data gathering, community enlightenment and enforcement of mining laws.

In March, authorities deployed 2,500 agents to police unauthorized mining activities.

This week, the government said the “Mining Marshal Corps” has arrested more than 300 illegal miners, including foreign nationals.

But economist and founder of the Center for Social Justice Eze Onyekpere said authorities are still not doing enough to boost income from the mining sector.

“It’s been a mantra of successive governments to improve government revenue by diversifying into the solid minerals sector, but we’re getting very infinitesimal sum of money from solid minerals mining,” he said. “And it’s not as if we don’t have enough solid minerals or that mining is not taking place, it is because solid minerals mining has been converted to a criminal activity especially in those areas where there’s security threats and crisis but the federal government has not taken it seriously.”

Despite the government’s lofty goals, the mining sector contributed only about 0.77% of Nigeria’s GDP last year.

Onyekpere says until the government gets more serious, Nigeria’s mining industry will not be able to reach its potential.
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Lebanon is home to an estimated 176,000 migrants, many of them African women working menial jobs. Since the conflict began, many of them have been displaced, facing uncertain futures. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ethel Bonet in Beirut.
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Gaborone, Botswana — Botswana’s new leader, President Duma Boko, has promised zero tolerance for graft in his administration. The pledge comes as scores of Botswana residents join in youth-led anti-corruption protests, urging the government to prosecute former officials accused of looting public coffers.

Activist Setlhomo Tshwanelang mobilized the protests over alleged corruption within state enterprises.

He said more demonstrations are on the way and the new government must prosecute anyone who stole public funds.

Montshwari Mogopane, an investigator for Botswana’s Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, said his office has seen an increase in the number of reported cases of corruption.

“Of course, we have a problem of corruption in the country. This is reflected by the number of cases we receive under investigations,” Mogopane said. “The reports show an increase in the number of cases that we are receiving. There is that need to actually sharpen our swords and fight corruption.”

President Boko said there will be an audit of the state coffers to see if any corruption occurred. His government has reported the country is broke.

Boko told new members of Cabinet on Monday that under his administration, there will be no room for graft.

“There will be no corruption, firstly because I expect that you will uphold the highest standard, and secondly, more clinically, we will put very robust institutions and practices that will ensure that there is no corruption because we have to do it, so that even as we police ourselves, we must always know there are institutions and structures that are exerting influence and providing oversight in ensuring that we all stay on the straight and narrow,” he said.

Boko took office on November 1, after his party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change, defeated the Botswana Democratic Party, which had ruled the country since independence in 1966.

Boko’s predecessor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, maintains he has not been involved in any illegal activity and will avail himself for questioning in case of any investigation against his former administration.
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The Somaliland electoral commission announced Tuesday that opposition leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi “Irro” defeated incumbent Muse Bihi Abdi for the presidency of the breakaway region located on the Horn of Africa.

Independent observers described the election as peaceful. Irro, candidate for the Waddani (National) party captured 63.92% of the vote, compared with Bihi’s 34.81%. A third candidate, Faysal Ali Warabe, received 0.74% of the votes.

The election was originally scheduled to take place in 2022 but was delayed due to political differences.

Bihi, who defeated Irro in the last election in 2017, promised during the campaign that he would respect the results of the election.

Irro ran on a platform of change, promising to create a brighter future for the people of Somaliland, including more work and job opportunities for women.

Somaliland in 1991 declared its independence from Somalia, which views it as a northern breakaway region, not a separate nation.

Its location near Djibouti puts it close to the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa and the first overseas base for China.

Both Bihi and Irro said they hope the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will review policy toward Somaliland. The U.S. and Somaliland do not have diplomatic relations. The U.S. recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia within its 1960 borders.

Irro recently posted messages of congratulations to Trump after his victory. 

“We Somalilanders are thrilled with your bold policies towards Somaliland and look forward to strengthening the #Somaliland-US Partnership, as the President Aspirant, I look forward to promoting and contributing to a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous East Africa and the Red Sea,” Irro said.

The International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) to Somaliland’s presidential elections said the elections took place in a “mostly calm and peaceful environment where registered voters were able to exercise their right to vote during the day.”

IEOM said it did not observe any serious irregularities or electoral malpractice, although observers noticed procedural and administrative inconsistencies that could be addressed by better training.

The mission said it “identified a number of issues that electoral authorities could address including making sure that the secrecy of the vote is upheld in future elections and that the voter register is updated more regularly and closer to the holding of elections to ensure it is up-to-date.”

“In addition, voters need to be better informed about voting procedures,” the mission added in an assessment of the election.

Who is the new president?

Abdirahman Irro, as he is commonly referred to, was born on April 29, 1955, in Hargeisa, Somalia. After completing his secondary school education at Sheikh high school near Burao town, he moved to Mogadishu for higher education.

He has a diploma from the Somali Institute of Development Administration and Management, and SIDAM/California State University and he earned an MBA from SIDAM/New York State University, according to the Waddani party’s website.

He speaks Somali, English, Arabic, Russian and Finnish, the party said.

In 1981 he was employed by Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat. During his time there, he worked at the Somali embassy in Moscow, before moving to Finland to live with his family.

He started leading Somaliland community organizations in Finland before he returned to Somaliland in 1999 to join politics. He was elected to the Somaliland Parliament in 2005, and became the speaker for the first democratically elected Parliament, a position he held for 12 years.

In 2012, he co-founded the Waddani political party and was chosen as its first chairman as well as the presidential candidate for the 2017 election.

Following parliamentary elections in 2021, Waddani become the majority party in parliament.

According to human rights lawyer and analyst Guleid Ahmed Jama, the election shows the strength of Somaliland’s democracy.

“After two years of political controversy and election delays that resulted in political violence, the successful completion of the electoral process is good news,” he said.

“However, it does not solve the many problems Somaliland is facing. There are big tasks ahead of the president-elect. I believe a government of national unity can salvage Somaliland and unite the divided and polarized people. The president-elect should not treat this as a win-lose scenario. He should come up with a plan to unite the people.”
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NAIROBI, KENYA — The spread of a mosquito in East Africa that thrives in urban areas and is immune to insecticide is fueling a surge in malaria that could reverse decades of progress against the disease, experts say.

Africa accounted for about 95% of the 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 deaths worldwide in 2022, according to the most recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which said children under 5 accounted for 80% of deaths in the region.

But the emergence of an invasive species of mosquito on the continent could massively increase those numbers. 

Anopheles stephensi is native to parts of South Asia and the Middle East but was spotted for the first time in the tiny Horn of Africa state of Djibouti in 2012.

Djibouti had all but eradicated malaria only to see it make a slow but steady return over the following years, hitting more than 70,000 cases in 2020. 

Then stephensi arrived in neighboring Ethiopia and WHO says it is key to an “unprecedented surge,” from 4.1 million malaria cases and 527 deaths last year to 7.3 million cases and 1,157 deaths between January 1 and October 20, 2024.

Unlike other species which are seasonal and prefer rural areas, stephensi thrives year-round in urban settings, breeding in man-made water storage tanks, roof gutters or even air conditioning units.

It appears to be highly resistant to insecticides, and bites earlier in the evening than other carriers. That means bed nets — up to now the prime weapon against malaria — may be much less effective.

“The invasion and spread of Anopheles stephensi has the potential to change the malaria landscape in Africa and reverse decades of progress we’ve made towards malaria control,” Meera Venkatesan, malaria division chief for USAID, told AFP.

More research is needed

The fear is that stephensi will infest dense cities like Mombasa on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast and Sudan’s capital Khartoum, with one 2020 study warning it could eventually reach 126 million city-dwellers across Africa.

Only last month, Egypt was declared malaria-free by WHO after a century-long battle against the disease — a status that could be threatened by stephensi’s arrival.

Much remains unknown, however.

Stephensi was confirmed as present in Kenya in late 2022, but has so far stayed in hotter, dryer areas without reaching the high-altitude capital, Nairobi. 

“We don’t yet fully understand the biology and behavior of this mosquito,” Charles Mbogo, president of the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association, told AFP.

“Possibly it is climate-driven and requires high temperatures, but much more research is needed.”

He called for increased funding for capturing and testing mosquitos, and for educating the public on prevention measures such as covering water receptacles.

Multiplying threats

The spread of stephensi could dovetail with other worrying trends, including increased evidence of drug resistant malaria recorded in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Eritrea.

“The arrival of resistance is imminent,” said Dorothy Achu, WHO’s head of tropical and vector-borne diseases in Africa. 

WHO is working with countries to diversify treatment programmes to delay resistance, she said. 

A new malaria variant is also evading tests used to diagnose the disease. 

“The increased transmission that stephensi is driving could potentially help accelerate the spread of other threats, such as drug resistance or another mutation in the parasite that leads it to be less detectable by our most widely-used diagnostics,” said Venkatesan at USAID.

Another added challenge is the lack of coordination between African governments. 

Achu said WHO is working on “a more continental approach”. 

But Mbogo in Kenya said “more political will” was needed. 

“We share information as scientists with colleagues in neighbouring countries,” he said. “But we need to reach the higher level. We need cross-border collaborations, data-sharing.”
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dubai/washington — The U.S. special envoy to Sudan traveled to the African country for the first time on Monday to seek an increase in the flow of aid to millions of people in need and an end to a devastating war.

Tom Perriello, who was named Washington’s envoy for Sudan in February, traveled to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, the de facto capital for the army-led government.

It marked the first visit to the country by a senior U.S. official since the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in April 2023 and the U.S. embassy was evacuated.

“We feel an enormous amount of urgency to end this crisis and to ensure that we can … help to get food and medicine and life-saving support to the 20 million people plus that are in need,” a State Department official said before the trip.

The U.N. says more than 25 million people — half of Sudan’s population — need aid as famine has taken hold in one region and more than 11 million people have fled their homes.

Perriello met with Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as well as humanitarian, government and tribal leaders, a statement by the country’s sovereign council said.

In a meeting the council said was “lengthy, comprehensive, and frank,” the two men discussed ways to deliver humanitarian aid and a political process to end the war.

“The U.S. envoy presented several suggestions which the head of the sovereign council agreed to,” the statement said.

U.S.-mediated talks in Geneva earlier this year failed to achieve progress toward a cease-fire as the army refused to attend, but did secure promises from the warring parties to improve aid access.

The war erupted more than a year ago amid a power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Perriello discussed “the need to cease fighting, enable unhindered humanitarian access, including through localized pauses in the fighting to allow for the delivery of emergency relief supplies, and commit to a civilian government,” a State Department statement said.

While the U.S. would continue to pursue a more comprehensive cease-fire and negotiations, “right now, I think there’s a really key opportunity to build on the expansion of humanitarian aid,” the State Department official said, highlighting the need for relief corridors to the most battle-ravaged areas including al-Fashir, Sennar and parts of the capital Khartoum.

Sudan’s sovereign council said last week it would extend a temporary opening of the Adre border crossing with Chad, which aid agencies say is a vital corridor for food and other supplies to areas of the Darfur and Kordofan regions at risk of famine.

The State Department official said Washington was concerned that the number of foreign actors beginning to engage in the conflict was growing, adding that there has been an increased number of mercenary fighters from the Sahel arriving to fight with the RSF as well as other actors, including Russia and Iran, playing a role with the army.

The visit came as the RSF continues revenge attacks in eastern El Gezira state and a campaign to take over the army’s last Darfur stronghold, al-Fashir.

In a news conference in Nairobi, an RSF representative said they were still open to peace but doubted the army’s willingness.

“They do not listen to any language but that of the rifle, and so we will continue to talk to them in the language they understand,” said Brigadier General Omar Hamdan.
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The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked debate in higher education, raising questions about ethics and integrity in teaching, learning and knowledge creation. In South Africa, some academic institutions are taking a proactive approach, integrating AI into their curricula. Experts say this step is not only innovative but also helps level the playing field among students. Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg.
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JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday lives should not be put at risk in a standoff between police and hundreds of illegal miners stuck underground in a disused mine shaft and the miners should be recovered safely. 

The police have blocked miners’ supplies of food and water to force them out and arrest them for illegally entering the abandoned mine in North West province in search of leftover gold — an issue that has plagued South Africa for decades.  

More than 1,000 illegal miners have resurfaced in recent weeks but police said last week that hundreds could still be underground. Local residents and human rights groups have criticized authorities for blocking their supplies.  

In a weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said the situation was precarious and could potentially turn volatile. 

“The Stilfontein mine is a crime scene where the offense of illegal mining is being committed. It is standard police practice everywhere to secure a crime scene and to block off escape routes that enable criminals to evade arrest,” he said. 

Ramaphosa urged the police to respect the miners’ rights and not put their lives at risk and said his government would work with the mining industry on the issue of illegal mining. 

“The police will carry out their duties and responsibilities to bring the illegal miners to the surface safely,” he said. 

Illegal mining has thrived in South Africa through small-time pilfering and organized criminal networks, costing the economy billions of rands in lost income and royalties. 

It was unclear if those still in the mine were unwilling or unable to get out. Public broadcaster SABC said that volunteers had brought 12 miners to the surface since last Wednesday. 

 
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LIBREVILLE, Gabon — Voters in Gabon overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, authorities said Sunday, more than one year after mutinous soldiers overthrew the country’s longtime president and seized power in the oil-rich Central African nation.

Over 91% of voters approved the new constitution in a referendum held on Saturday, Gabon’s Interior Minister Hermann Immongault said in a statement read on state television. Turnout was an estimated 53.5%, he added.

The final results will be announced by the Constitutional Court, the interior minister said.

The draft constitution, which proposes sweeping changes that could prevent dynastic rule and transfer of power, needed more than 50% of the votes cast to be adopted.

In 2023, soldiers toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba and put him under house arrest, accusing him of irresponsible governance and massive embezzlement that risked leading the country into chaos. The junta released Ondimba a week later on humanitarian grounds, allowing him travel abroad for medical treatment.

The soldiers proclaimed their Republican Guard chief, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, as president of a transitional committee to lead the country. Oligui is a cousin of Bongo.

Bongo had served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years. His rule was marked by widespread discontent with his reign. A coup attempt in 2019 failed.

The draft constitution imposes a seven-year term, renewable only once, instead of the current charter that allows for five-year terms renewable without limit. It also says family members cannot succeed a president and abolishes the position of prime minister.

The former French colony is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few — and nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank. Its oil export revenue was $6 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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Dakar — Senegal on Sunday voted in parliamentary elections, with the new leaders aiming for a resounding majority to see through the promise of ambitious reform that swept them to power eight months ago.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye secured victory in March pledging economic transformation, social justice and a fight against corruption — raising hopes among a largely youthful population facing high inflation and widespread unemployment.

But an opposition-led parliament hampered the government’s first months in power, leading Faye to dissolve the chamber in September and call snap elections as soon as the constitution allowed him to do so.

“I hope that [the ruling party] Pastef will win the elections to gain a majority so that they can better carry out their mandate,” said 56-year-old Pascal Goudiaby, who was among dozens waiting to cast their ballots at a polling station in the capital Dakar.

“The priority is unemployment, young people are facing so much unemployment,” he added.

Faye appointed his firebrand mentor Ousmane Sonko as prime minister, after Sonko’s own bid to run for president was blocked following a three-year deadly standoff with the former authorities.

The pair promised a leftist pan-African agenda — vowing to diversify political and economic partnerships, review hydrocarbon and fishing contracts and re-establish Senegal’s sovereignty, which they claimed had been sold abroad.

The West African country’s roughly 7.3 million registered voters will elect 165 MPs for five-year terms.

Analysts say Senegalese voters have historically confirmed their presidential choice during parliamentary elections, and the Pastef party is the favorite to win.

“I think that whoever you gave your confidence to in the presidential election, you need to renew your confidence in him so that he can achieve what he started,” said 56-year-old voter Toure Aby.

“We want life to be less expensive for the Senegalese”, she added. “Everything’s expensive: water, electricity, food.”

‘No room for violence’

Voters are continuing a long democratic tradition in Senegal, widely seen as a stable outlier in a coup-plagued region.

Prime Minister Sonko cast his vote in the morning in the southern city of Ziguinchor, calling for calm.

“Democracy is expressed in peace and stability, and I believe that in a democracy there is no room for violence,” he said.

Sonko spent three weeks on the campaign trail promising projects and investment in the regions he visited, while applauding patriotism and national sovereignty.

Reminiscent of his years as a fiery opposition leader, he had called for vengeance after attacks against his supporters, but later urged restraint.

Despite the heated tone, clashes were sporadic in the run-up to the vote.

Though some agreements have been reached between coalitions, the opposition remains fragmented.

Former president Macky Sall is leading an opposition grouping from abroad, breaking with the political restraint normally adopted by ex-leaders in Senegal.

He left power in April after triggering one of the worst crises in decades with a last-minute postponement of the presidential election.

Former prime minister and presidential runner-up Amadou Ba, and Dakar mayor Barthelemy Dias, are also heading coalitions.

Bleak picture

The opposition has accused the new government of inaction, amateurism and a desire to settle scores with the previous administration.

Unemployment stands at more than 20 percent and scores continue to risk their lives every month in a bid to reach Europe by boat.

The government said an audit of public finances revealed a wider budget deficit than previously announced, with the International Monetary Fund suspending an aid program pending the audit’s review.

Moody’s downgraded Senegal’s credit rating and placed the country under observation.

Since taking office, the authorities have lowered the price of household goods such as rice, oil and sugar and launched a series of reviews.

They have initiated justice system reform and presented an ambitious 25-year development plan aimed at transforming the economy and public policy.

Polling stations close at 6:00 pm (1800 GMT).

Reliable projections of the new parliament’s makeup could be available from Monday morning.
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Yaoundé, Cameroon      — Early results indicate a majority of Gabon’s 860,000 registered voters cast ballots in favor of a new constitution that could end military rule, according to state TV reports.

The results of Saturday’s constitutional referendum could end the transitional military government that ousted the Bongo family dynasty after nearly 60 years of rule. An official tally is expected later.

Officials say the adoption of the new constitution is one of the major promises made by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema after seizing power in what Gabon’s military leaders call a bloodless August 30 coup that liberated the central African state from political bondage. 

Nguema seized power from Ali Bongo, who was declared the winner of Gabon’s August 26 elections with more than 64% of the vote. 

Gabon’s military said the coup marked an end to the nearly 56-year Bongo dynasty, during which Omer Bongo Ondimba ruled Gabon for 42 years since 1967 and handed power to his son, Ali Bongo, in 2009.

Gabon’s military said it deployed troops Saturday to towns and villages and reinforced a dusk-to-dawn curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. to make sure civilians were protected before, during and after the voting. 

Serge Zeng Ango is executive secretary of the National Union, a political party that campaigned for Gabon citizens to vote in favor of a new constitution during the referendum. 

Ango said the new constitution will put an end to any chance of another political dynasty where power was passed from father to son, as during the Bongo era.  

Unlike in the past when power was confiscated by a few people, said Ango, the new constitution is reassuring that ultimate power resides in civilians who can freely vote for their leaders and contribute to the development of their nation. 

 

He said those who voted in favor of Gabon’s new constitution are happy that article 42 of the law states that at the end of the term of office, the president, his or her spouse and descendants cannot be candidates for succession. 

But opposition and civil society say the draft constitution should have prohibited military ruler General Nguema from running for president. They said military leaders prepared the constitution to grant excessive power to the president because they want Nguema to maintain his grip on power.  

Jean-Victor Mouanga Mbadinga is a former presidential aspirant and leader of the Movement for Social Emancipation of Gabon’s civilians, one of Gabon’s political parties. 

 

He said by suppressing the post of prime minister, the fundamental law of 173 articles transforms Gabon into a country where the president has too much power. He said it is unfortunate that Gabon is increasing the presidential term limit from 5 to 7 years, renewable once, when in the United States of America — a world democracy that the central African state should emulate — presidents serve for no longer than two elected 4-year terms. 

 

Mbadinga said it is abnormal for Gabon’s constitution to give powers to the president to either dissolve parliament, which is the legislative arm of government, and to hire and fire a vice president at will. 

Gabon’s opposition and civil society said they will challenge the outcome of the referendum in the courts but did not give further details. 

 

Gabon’s government said Saturday’s referendum was free, fair and transparent. 

 

Officials said the new constitution would protect individual liberties, unlike during the Bongo father and son era. 

 

International observers from the African Union and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community said that, except for voting that began late due to the late opening of polling stations, the elections were peaceful and transparent. Hundreds of voters turned out at polling stations starting at 6 a.m. local time, according to observers.  

 

Gabon’s military leaders said final results of the constitutional referendum will be released by the constitutional court, but neither provided a specific time or date.  

 

After the publication of referendum results, Nguema said, Gabon will prepare its electoral laws in February, create an elections management body, and organize presidential, parliamentary and local elections in August 2025 to end a two-year transitional period.  

 

The military ruler has not said if Nguema will be a candidate or not, but the constitution in this referendum does not prevent him from running for president.  
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