Elections in Gabon
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Elections in Gabon take place within the framework of a presidential multi-party democracy with the
Gabonese Democratic Party The Gabonese Democratic Party (french: Parti Démocratique Gabonais, abbreviated PDG), is the ruling and dominant political party of Gabon. Between 1968 and 1990 it was the sole legal party. History The party was established as the Gabonese Dem ...
, in power since independence, as the dominant party. The
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
are directly elected, whilst the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
is indirectly elected.


Electoral history


Pre-independence

Following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
(in a combined constituency with
French Congo The French Congo (french: Congo français) or Middle Congo (french: Moyen-Congo) was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo and parts of Gabon, and the Central African Republic. In 1910, i ...
, began to elect members to the
French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
. The first elections took place in October 1945, with voters split into two colleges; the First College for French citizens and the Second for non-citizens.
Gabriel d'Arboussier Gabriel marquis d'Arboussier (14 January 1908 – 21 December 1976) was a Senegalese-France, French politician. Son of the baron Henri d’Arboussier-Monplaisir, a colonial governor (from a wealthy family of farmers) and la princesse Mossi, a M ...
was elected by the First College, and although Gabonese politician
Jean-Hilaire Aubame Jean-Hilaire Aubame (10 November 1912 – 16 August 1989) was a Gabonese politician active during both the colonial and independence periods. The French journalist Pierre Péan said that Aubame's training "as a practicing Catholic and a cust ...
received the most votes in the Second College, the election went to a second round, where he was beaten by the Congolese Jean-Félix Tchicaya. The next elections were held in June the following year, with d'Arboussier defeated by Henri Seignon in the First College and Tchicaya re-elected in the Second. Another election was held in November that year, with the Second College gaining an extra seat, and now split into Congolese and Gabonese sections.
Maurice Bayrou Maurice Bayrou (2 March 1905 in Lanta, Haute-Garonne – 29 December 1996) was a French veterinarian and politician. Bayrou was a member of the National Assembly from 1946 to 1958, representing the Gabon-Moyen-Congo constituency. During his ...
was elected by the still-combined First College, whilst Aubame was elected in the Gabonese Second College seat on a
French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...
ticket. A third election in 1946 took place in December when the Representative Assembly was elected; it also used a college system, with 12 members elected by the First College and 18 by the Second. The next French elections took place in 1951, with Bayrou re-elected in the First College and Aubame in the Second. The Representative Council was converted into a Territorial Assembly prior to the 1952 elections, with Aubame's
Gabonese Democratic and Social Union The Gabonese Social and Democratic Union (, UDSG) was a political party in Gabon. History The UDSG was established on 9 September 1947 by Jean-Hilaire Aubame,Wilson-André Ndombet (2009) ''Partis politiques et Unité nationale au Gabon (1957-19 ...
(UDSG) winning 14 of the 24 seats. Bayrou and Aubame were both re-elected again in the 1956 French elections. The final national elections in the colonial period were the Territorial Assembly elections of 1957. Although the UDSG emerged as the largest party, winning 14 of the 40 seats, the
Gabonese Democratic Bloc The Gabonese Democratic Party (french: Parti Démocratique Gabonais, abbreviated PDG), is the ruling and dominant political party of Gabon. Between 1968 and 1990 it was the sole legal party. History The party was established as the Gabonese Dem ...
(BDG), which had won eight seats, was able to form a 21-seat coalition together with an affiliated list and five independents. This resulted in the BDG's
Léon M'ba Gabriel Léon M'ba (9 February 1902 – 28 November 1967) was a Gabonese politician who served as both the first Prime Minister of Gabon, Prime Minister (1959–1961) and President of Gabon, President (1961–1967) of Gabon. A member of th ...
becoming Prime Minister, and President when the country became independent in 1960.


Post-independence

Following independence, the President became a directly elected post, with the National Assembly elected every three years and the President every six. In the first post-independence elections in 1961 both posts were elected simultaneously, and the BDG and UDSG agreed to run on a single united list under the name "National Union". No other party ran and the list won all 67 seats in the National Assembly, whilst M'ba ran unopposed for the presidency, and was elected with 100% of the vote. However, the two parties ran against each other in the 1964 parliamentary elections, with the BDG winning 31 seats to the UDSG's 16. The BDG was the only party to contest the 1967 general elections, resulting in M'ba being re-elected unopposed and the party winning all 47 seats in the National Assembly. The following year the country became a
one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
with the
Gabonese Democratic Party The Gabonese Democratic Party (french: Parti Démocratique Gabonais, abbreviated PDG), is the ruling and dominant political party of Gabon. Between 1968 and 1990 it was the sole legal party. History The party was established as the Gabonese Dem ...
(PDG, the successor to the BDG) as the sole legal party.
General elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
were held in 1969, with
Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second President of Gabon for 42 years, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as ...
(who had succeeded M'ba after his death in 1967) elected unopposed as President and the PDG list winning all 70 seats in the National Assembly. Presidential elections in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
saw Bongo re-elected in the same manner, whilst the PDG remained unopposed in parliamentary elections in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
(in which the National Assembly was increased to 89 seats) and
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
(111 seats). Multi-party politics was reintroduced in 1990 and
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
that year saw the PDG retain its majority in the National Assembly, although it was reduced to 63 of the 120 seats. The first competitive
presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...
were held in 1993, with Bongo re-elected with 51% of the vote, although the runner-up,
Paul Mba Abessole Paul Mba Abessole (born October 9, 1939
, ''Afrique Express'', number 244, February 6, 2002 . ...
, accused the government of vote rigging. The PDG won the 1996 parliamentary elections, winning 85 seats. The Senate was elected for the first time in early 1997, with the PDG winning 52 of the 91 seats. Bongo was re-elected again in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
with 67% of the vote, and the PDG gained another seat in the 2001 parliamentary elections. The February 2003 Senate elections saw the PDG win 67 of the 92 seats. Bongo was re-elected for a sixth time in the 2005 presidential elections with 79% of the vote. The PDG was reduced to 82 seats in the 2006 parliamentary elections, although affiliated parties won a further 17 seats. Senate elections in early 2009 saw the PDG win 75 of the 102 seats in an expanded Senate. Following Bongo's death in June 2009,
presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...
were held later in the year, and won by his son
Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959),"Bongo Ali", ''Gabon: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 4Africa Intelligence 5 March 2002 . sometimes known as Ali Bongo, is a Gabonese politician who has been the third president of Ga ...
, who received 42% of the vote. The 2011 parliamentary elections were boycotted by most opposition parties, resulting in the PDG winning 115 of the 121 seats. The PDG retained its majority in the Senate in the 2014 elections, winning 81 seats.


Electoral system

The
voting age A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain before they become eligible to vote in a public election. The most common voting age is 18 years; however, voting ages as low as 16 and as high as 25 currently exist (s ...
in Gabon is 21, and voting is compulsory; non-participants may be fined.


President

The
President of Gabon The president of Gabon is the head of state of Gabon. A total of three people have served as president (not counting two acting presidents) since the post was formed in 1960. Description of the office Election The president of the republic is ...
is elected for a seven-year term in a single round of voting by plurality.


National Assembly

The 120 members of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
are elected from nine multi-member constituencies based on the
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
using the two-round system. Constituencies are between nine and eighteen seats in size.Electoral system
IPU


Senate

The 102 members of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
are indirectly elected. Like the National Assembly, they are elected from nine multi-member constituencies based on the provinces, with between four and eighteen seats in each constituency. The elections are carried out by municipal councillors and departmental assembly members using the two-round system. Substitute members are elected at the same time.


Referendums

During the colonial era, Gabonese voters participated in French constitutional referendums in
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...
, May 1946 and October 1946. In the 1958 referendum on establishing the
French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...
, 93% of voters voted in favour; a no vote would have resulted in immediate independence. Since independence in 1960, only one referendum has been held; a
constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in 1995, which saw amendments to the constitution approved by 96.5% of voters.Elections in Gabon
African Elections Database


References


External links


Gabon
Adam Carr's Election Archive

African Elections Database {{Gabon topics