By RFPosted on 21-11-2018Modified on 21-11-2018 at 00:23

The absence of President Ali Bongo, hospitalized in Saudi Arabia since October 24, is a real headache for the Gabonese authorities.

The idea of ​​a mission of the African Union in Gabon is still " in the tubes ", but it is not for right away, according to an African Union source. On Monday, Gabonese Foreign Minister Régis Immongault recalled that the " solidity of the Gabonese institutions is no longer to be proven " and that " the decision of the Constitutional Court rendered on 14 November "testifies to" their normal and regular functioning ".

In Libreville, since the hospitalization of Ali Bongo on October 24 in Saudi Arabia, the Constitutional Court has amended the Constitution to deal with the " temporary unavailability " of the President. She notably authorized the vice-president, Pierre-Claver Maganga Moussavou, to " convene and preside over a council of ministers ", which was held on Friday. But this situation, unpublished, is a real headache.

And according to several observers of Gabonese political life, wanting to save time, the authorities may go from blocking to blocking: every time it will bring the government together, the Constitutional Court will have to give the green light. As for the decrees adopted in the Council of Ministers, can they come into effect without the signature of the Head of State or the Vice-President has the authority to do so? As for the laws, none can be promulgated, not even the finance law, without the signature of President Ali Bongo.

" As regulator, the Constitutional Court has only taken its responsibilities; what else do we do : we block everything, "exclaims a government source. " No, the president has the right to convalesce. The state is working in the meantime. "

On the opposition side, this is the moment of consultation. Meetings take place, leaders talk to each other. We think about strategies. Should we organize a big event or a series of events? Should we seize the international community? " What I can tell you, assures the former minister Alexandre Barro Chambrier, is that we will not sit idly by ." And the leader of the Heritage and Modernity Gathering concludes: " The current situation is unacceptable. We do not have a health bulletin, we do not know who is leading. It can not last anymore . "

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