LIBREVILLE, Gabon — Authorities announced on Sunday that a substantial majority of voters in Gabon have endorsed a new constitution, marking a significant political shift over a year after soldiers staged a coup against the nation’s longstanding president in this oil-rich Central African state.

According to Gabon’s Interior Minister Hermann Immongault, more than 91% of participants in the Saturday referendum supported the new constitutional framework, with voter turnout estimated at around 53.5%. The final results will be confirmed by the Constitutional Court, as noted by the interior minister during a statement broadcast on state television.

The proposed constitution outlines major reforms aimed at curbing dynastic leadership and ensuring a more structured transfer of power, requiring more than half of the votes cast for approval. In 2023, the military ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, placing him under house arrest amid accusations of mismanagement and significant corruption, which they claimed jeopardized the nation’s stability. The junta permitted Ondimba to leave a week later for medical assistance abroad.

Following the coup, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the head of the Republican Guard and a cousin of Bongo, was named president of the transitional military committee responsible for governing the country. Bongo had been in power since 2009, taking over after his father, who ruled for 41 years, passed away. His administration faced widespread public dissatisfaction, which culminated in a failed coup attempt in 2019.

The new constitutional draft outlines a seven-year presidential term, allowing for just one renewal, as opposed to the current five-year terms that can be renewed indefinitely. Moreover, the document prohibits family succession to the presidency and eliminates the position of prime minister.

Once a French colony, Gabon is part of OPEC; however, its oil wealth is distributed unequally, with almost 40% of the population aged 15 to 24 unemployed as of 2020, according to World Bank data. The nation’s oil export revenue reached $6 billion in 2022, as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.