Libreville, Nov 16 (IANS): Voters in Libreville, Gabon's capital, participated in a referendum Saturday on a draft constitution proposed by the military government that assumed power after a coup in August 2023.

"I arrived as early as 6:30 am to be among the first to vote," said Jean Nze, a man in his 50s, at the Damas 2 Public School polling station in the capital's 4th district.

The station opened at 8:15 am local time (0715 GMT), and the process was orderly, with security ensured by police and military personnel.

The proposed constitution seeks to replace the current semi-parliamentary system with a presidential regime. If approved, the position of prime minister will be abolished, and the National Assembly will lose its power to censure the government. However, the president will have the authority to dissolve the National Assembly once during his term.

The proposed constitution extends the presidential term to seven years, renewable only once, up from five years with unlimited renewals, Xinhua news agency reported.

Presidential candidates must be born to at least one Gabonese parent, married to a Gabonese citizen, and be between 35 and 70 years old.

A total of 848,313 voters are registered for the referendum. Polling stations will close at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) with vote counting starting immediately afterward. There is no legal deadline for the announcement of results.