EPG challenges nationality code reform in Gabon's Constitutional Court

The Ensemble pour le Gabon EPG party has filed a challenge with the Constitutional Court against the ordinance reforming Gabon's Nationality Code. This action, initiated this week, brings a politically sensitive matter before the high court, especially as EPG's founder, Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, is in pre-trial detention. The appeal directly targets a text adopted by ordinance, a procedure that bypasses traditional parliamentary debate. EPG argues that the ordinance violates the constitutional principle of equality among Gabonese citizens. According to the party, the new code introduces distinctions that could create categories of nationals with unequal rights, particularly regarding access to certain positions or prerogatives. This aligns with broader criticisms from the opposition and civil society, who are concerned about stricter criteria and potential political instrumentalization of nationality law. Bilie-By-Nze's party believes the reform weakens a cornerstone of the Gabonese republican pact, potentially leading to a multi-tiered citizenship by targeting nationality by origin versus acquired nationality, or by modifying associated civic rights. This critique is based on a strict interpretation of constitutional guarantees, which prohibit discrimination based on origin in the exercise of political rights. The filing occurs while the former head of government, a prominent political figure under Ali Bongo Ondimba's presidency before the August 2023 transition, is in pre-