By 
GABON – Gabon’s military rulers have said that a new constitution has been overwhelmingly approved in a referendum, according to provisional results published on Sunday.
Speaking on state television, the interior minister claimed that 91.8 percent of voters had said “yes” to the charter, with a turnout estimated at 53.5 per cent.
According to Africanews, the junta in power, led by interim President Brice Oligui Nguema, had promised it would be a stepping stone in the transition to democratic rule, tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2025.
In a move large welcomed by the Gabonese, military officers seized power in a coup in August last year ousting President Ali Bongo.
His family had controlled the oil-rich country for almost 60 years, but left a stagnant economy with a third of the population living in poverty.
The proposed new constitution sets a two-term limit on the presidency, each lasting seven years, no prime minister, no dynastic transfer of power, and recognises French as Gabon’s working language.
It also required presidential candidates to be exclusively Gabonese, with at least one Gabon-born parent and have a Gabonese spouse.
The draft, however, does not bar Nguema from running for the presidency, raising concerns for some commentators about the junta’s ambitions.
The final tally would be announced by the Constitutional Court.
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