Transitional leader urges voters to back draft charter, which proposes changes that include presidential term limits.

Gabon is voting in a referendum on whether to adopt a new constitution that would pave the way to democratic rule after the military deposed President Ali Bongo Ondimba last year, ending 55 years of rule by his family in the oil-rich nation.

An estimated 860,000 registered voters were expected to cast their ballots on Saturday on the draft charter, which proposes sweeping changes in the Central African nation that could prevent dynastic rule and sets presidential term limits.

The proposed constitution needs more than 50 percent of votes to be adopted.

“We have a date with history,” General Brice Oligui Nguema, the transitional president who led the coup last year, said in a post on social media platform X alongside a photo of him in civilian dress and baseball cap, with a voting card in his hand.

Nguema has been urging voters to support the new constitution, which he says embodies the military government’s commitment to charting a new course for Gabon.

He has promised to hand power back to civilians after a two-year transition but has made no secret of his desire to win the presidential election scheduled for August 2025.

The referendum is seen as a crucial first step as the country seeks to transition to democracy since Bongo’s ouster in August 2023. He had governed since 2009, taking over the presidency from his father, Omar, who died that year after ruling the country since 1967.

Bongo was overthrown moments after being proclaimed the winner in an election the army and opposition declared fraudulent.

A new constitution would introduce two-term limits on the presidency, remove the position of prime minister and recognise French as Gabon’s working language. It also says family members cannot succeed a president.

The presidential term would be set at seven years. The current charter allows for five-year terms renewable without limit.

Nathalie Badzoko, a 33-year-old civil servant, told the AFP news agency that she was voting “yes” and had faith in the military government, but admitted she had “not read the whole text” and its 173 articles.

Opponents dismissed the draft charter as tailor-made for a strongman to remain in power.

“We are creating a dictator who designs the constitution for himself,” lawyer Marlene Fabienne Essola Efountame said during a debate last Sunday, organised by state television.

Nguema, the interim leader, is a cousin of Bongo. He had served as a bodyguard to Bongo’s father and also headed the Gabonese Republican Guard, an elite military unit.

Voting began late at several polling stations in the capital, Libreville, including at the Lycee Leon M’Ba school where green – for yes – and red – for no – ballot papers were still being handed out when the polls opened at 7am (06:00 GMT), according to AFP.

The country’s 2,835 polling stations are due to remain open until 6pm (17:00 GMT).

The final results will be announced by the constitutional court, the Interior Ministry said.

The former French colony is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. Nearly 40 percent of Gabonese aged 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies