Bloc des 5 calls for withdrawal of Gabonese bill
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on GabonActu
The Bloc des 5, a coalition of five Gabonese political parties, has asked the National Assembly in a letter to withdraw outright the bill amending Law No. 016/2025 on political parties, or alternatively refer it to committee. The coalition cites risks to pluralism and public freedoms, according to GabonActu.
The Bloc des 5, a coalition of five Gabonese political parties, is asking MPs to withdraw the bill amending certain provisions of legislation on political parties. Alternatively, the coalition is calling for it to be referred to committee for an in-depth review involving the entire political class, according to a letter addressed to the National Assembly and cited by GabonActu.
The five parties are particularly challenging the bill’s legal basis. They believe Law No. 016/2025 of 27 June 2025 was withdrawn because of material errors concerning Article 72, before a new version was published in the Official Gazette on 30 June 2025. The Bloc des 5 therefore considers that the text submitted to Parliament rests on a questionable legal basis.
The coalition also considers that the provisions of Article 72 undermine political pluralism and public freedoms enshrined in Gabon’s Constitution of 19 December 2024. The bill was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 18 September 2026 in Port-Gentil, on the initiative of the Ministry of Reform and Relations with Institutions.
The challenge extends that launched by the Republican and Democratic Party (PRD), whose president Ariel Eloi Iwango had also spoken out against the bill, according to GabonActu. The Bloc des 5 had also requested CEEAC mediation on 30 October over the law governing political parties. The Bloc des 5 calls for CEEAC mediation on Gabon’s political parties law.
