THE INFORMATION came out yesterday late in the afternoon: the formation of the Senate office, of which the president of the National Union (UN), Paulette Missambo, was put at the head. An experienced woman, she was several times minister (National Education, Health, Transport and Civil Aviation, etc.). Suffice to say that she has an acute knowledge of the management of state affairs.
Her time in opposition undoubtedly gave her the opportunity to have a more in-depth approach to her vision of the management of the country, a vision that she did not necessarily have when she was a member of the government. It is therefore a stateswoman who was chosen by the military in power to lead the Senate of the Transition which will have around fifty members compared to 70 for the first chamber of Parliament, namely the National Assembly. Certainly, the choice made on this national of Ogooué-Lolo (Lastoursville, capital of the department of Mulundu) was well received by national opinion especially since many Gabonese people think that she has the profile employment.
But this nonetheless raises some questions from many of them. In this case, why did you accept this position knowing that at the end of the Transition a presidential election must be held? Does this acceptance mean that she no longer wishes to take part in the next presidential election? Given that at the end of the Transition Charter, the presidents of the two Chambers of Parliament are not likely to take part in the next election. For those close to her, if we stick to the minimum time that the Transition could take (2 years), Paulette Missambo, now aged 69, will be disqualified from the next presidential election. She will then be over 70 years old.
In addition, participating in a presidential election requires having energy to spare. And at a certain age, it is difficult to travel through all the departments and localities in the country to convince the Gabonese. Being president of the Senate, it is assumed that she will hand over to another member of the National Union to preside over the destiny of this Gabonese opposition party.