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Gabon Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on Gabon
Official Name: Gabonese Republic
Capital: Libreville
Area: 267,670 square kilometres (103,348 square miles)
Major cities (Population)
Libreville 286,000 (1990 estimate)
Port-Gentil 125,000 (1993 estimate)
Population: 1,320,000 (1995 estimate)
Population growth rate: 2.8 per cent (1990-1995 average)
Type of government: Republic; multi-party presidential government (opposition parties legalized 1990)
Independence: 17 August 1960 (from France)
Constitution: Adopted 14 March 1991
Voting Rights: Universal at age 21
Government
Gabon's president, who is directly elected for a five-year term and may serve only two terms, is head of state, and appoints the Council of Ministers. The 120-member National Assembly (Assemblée National) is elected for a five-year term. Until opposition parties were legalized in 1990, the Democratic Party of Gabon (PDG) was the sole legal party. Transition to a multi-party democracy has been swift but not smooth. The voting age is 21.
Recent History
The country became an autonomous republic in 1958, and full independence was granted in August 1960. Leon M'ba was elected as the first president of Gabon. He ruled until his death in 1967, except for a brief period during 1964, when he was ousted by a military coup before being reinstated as a result of French intervention. He was succeeded by Vice President Albert-Bernard Bongo, who instituted one-party rule through the Democratic Party of Gabon (PDG) and pursued a liberal economic policy. In the 1970s Gabon joined the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a full member, and Bongo converted to Islam and adopted the name El Hadj Omar Bongo.
Opposition to the government began to grow in about 1980, and protests and strikes in 1990 and 1991 finally forced the president to legalize opposition parties. Gabon’s subsequent transition to a multi-party democracy was rapid. More than 40 parties contested seats in the 1991 free elections, which were won by the ruling PDG. In multi-party presidential elections held in 1993, Bongo was re-elected. Opposition groups alleged fraud, riots broke out, and Bongo found it difficult to form an administration. In September 1994, with mediation from Canada, France, and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the government and opposition agreed that new elections should be held in 1996.
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