Gabon approves new constitution in referendum

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.
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