Elections in Gabon

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    Elections in Gabon take place within the framework of a

    Senate
    is indirectly elected.

    Electoral history

    Pre-independence

    Following

    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 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
    ticket.

    A third election in 1946 took place in December when the Representative Assembly

    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 (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 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

    1985
    (111 seats).

    Multi-party politics was reintroduced in 1990 and

    2001 parliamentary elections. The February 2003 Senate elections saw the PDG win 67 of the 92 seats.[2] 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

    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.[4]

    Electoral system

    The voting age in Gabon is 21, and voting is compulsory; non-participants may be fined.[5]

    President

    The

    plurality.[6]

    National Assembly

    The 120 members of the

    provinces using the two-round system. Constituencies are between nine and eighteen seats in size.[5]

    Senate

    The 102 members of the

    Senate 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.[7]

    Referendums

    During the colonial era, Gabonese voters participated in French constitutional referendums in

    October 1946. In the 1958 referendum on establishing the French Community, 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 in 1995, which saw amendments to the constitution approved by 96.5% of voters.[8]

    References

    1. ^ Annuaire Statistique du Gabon Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Direction des Statistiques Generales
    2. ^ Elections held in 2003 IPU
    3. ^ Elections held in 2009 IPU
    4. ^ Last elections IPU
    5. ^ a b Electoral system IPU
    6. ^ Gabonese Republic IFES
    7. ^ Electoral system IPU
    8. ^ Elections in Gabon African Elections Database

    External links

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elections_in_Gabon&oldid=1211215752"