Adoption of the law amending the Constitution: The Citizen Copil files a request for annulment
6 avril 2023
At the request of the parties of the Majority and those of the Opposition of the Concertation, the Parliament meeting in congress modified this day, Thursday April 06, 2023, for the 25th time since 1960 and for the 9th time since 1991, the Constitution of the Republic, making Gabon in Africa the country that has modified its Constitution the most while keeping its title of country with non-credible elections.
Respectful of the rule of law, promoter of a democracy combining legality and legitimacy, faced with certain provisions of this law amending the Constitution, which violate the principles with constitutional value defined in articles 1 paragraph 13, 2,3 and 4 of our Constitution, Justine Judith LEKOGO, Marc ONA ESSANGUI, Paul Aimé BAGAFOU, Dr. Joël-Patrick DINZAMBOU and Geoffroy FOUMBOULA LIBEKA MAKOSSO, all Gabonese citizens and member of COPIL CITIZEN, have in accordance with the provisions of article 85 of the Constitution, seized by petition the Constitutional Court for the purpose of proceeding to the cancellation of this umpteenth modification of our Constitution. The arguments put forward are as follows:
1. On the reasons for this revision: The Government presents this modification as the will of some of the political actors gathered in congress. The petitioners reminded the constitutional judges of the provisions of Article 1 paragraph 13 which recognize political, apolitical and religious Associations while not conferring any preponderance on one of them over the others.
Also, article 3 specifies that no section of the people, no group… can claim the exercise of national sovereignty. However, the Constitution being the instrument framing the national sovereignty, it is clear that the debates relating to its modification were by a section of the people, a group of individuals, composed of 80 members of the Majority and of some opposition.
This group of individuals represents 36 of the 101 political parties in Gabon; more than 80% of these 36 political parties do not even have elected members and some have even obtained 04 votes throughout the territory in the last legislative elections.
To allow this argument to prosper would be to recognize that political associations have preponderance over other types of associations and that the debates relating to the exercise of national sovereignty that should lead to the modification of the Constitution are the responsibility of a section of the people.
2. On the return to a round: the Government justified its position by the desire to reduce the cost linked to the organization of the elections and the need to avoid post-electoral conflicts caused by the second round. The applicants reminded the Constitutional Judges that three months ago, on behalf of the Gabonese people, they, Constitutional Judges, had judged this budget to be in line with the times and current circumstances, which have not changed to this day. . Are they going to change their minds by letting the argument on the cost of the elections prosper, a cost for which the same Government had specified ” peace, stability through peaceful elections are priceless » ?
3. Also, the applicants reminded the Court of the objectives of “universal suffrage” defined in Article 4 of our Constitution. Indeed, the political dictionary which distinguishes universal suffrage from other forms of suffrage (censitaire, capacity, etc.) specifies that: universal suffrage seeks to involve the greatest possible number of citizens in the functioning of the political system and in the choice of their leaders ».
The one-round ballot does not aim at this objective, quite the contrary. The one-round election will favor those elected by relative and not absolute majority, in this sense, elected officials who are legal (relative majority) but illegitimate (devoid of an absolute majority) while recalling that no two-round election has rise of tensions in Gabon as supported by the political actors of the consultation.
4. The applicants took the opportunity to remind the Court that the present legislature is made up of 89% of Deputies who obtained in the 1st round less than 50% of the votes of their respective electoral college.
Also, 41% of them obtained in the 1st round, less than 50% of the votes cast, thus offering on the basis of the results of the 1st round a Parliament certainly legal but illegitimate. An illegitimacy fortunately corrected by the second round. A second round without which, the parliamentarians of the opposition present at this consultation would never have had the title of Deputy because all elected in the second round.
Patriotism would require for the good of our Democracy that we refrain from submitting to the relative majority (depriving the holder of the mandate of all legitimacy) of all elections in Gabon. As a result, the elections in 2 rounds are at least maintained for the Parliamentary elections (Deputy and Senator) and those of the local Councils (Town halls and Departmental Councils), the latter making it possible to elect the Representatives of the People coated with legality and legitimacy. .
On the basis of the foregoing, the applicants purely and simply requested the annulment of this law amending the Constitution.
Finally, the COPIL CITIZEN reminds all citizens, political actors or not, that the election is a framework for citizen expression of which no actor, even a politician, can claim ownership or exclusivity.
Done in Libreville on April 06, 2023.
For the COPIL CITIZEN, the Spokesperson.
Geoffroy FOUMBOULA LIFE M.