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The Senate (Sénat) is the upper house of the Parliament of Gabon. It has 67 members, elected in single-seat constituencies by local and départemental councillors (52 seats) or appointed by the president (15 seats) for a six-year term. Beginning with the 2009 election, some constituencies elect two senators.
The status of the Parliament is unclear following the coup d'état four days after the 2023 general election.
History
The 1991 Constitution provided for the establishment of the Senate; previously the legislature had consisted of a unicameral National Assembly. The creation of Senate was approved on 18 March 1994. The Senate was not created until 1997, when an election was held to fill the seats in the upper house.
The first Senate president was Georges Rawiri (1932-2006), a long-time national political figure and close ally of Omar Bongo. He served in this position until his death in 2006.
He was replaced by René Radembino Coniquet, also a member of the Myéné ethnic group.
A Senate election was held on 18 January 2009. The ruling Gabonese Democratic Party won a large majority of seats. On this occasion, the number of senators was increased from 91 to 102. Following the election, Rose Francine Rogombé was elected as President of the Senate.
Elections
| Party | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2003 | 2009 | 2014 | |
| Gabonese Democratic Party | 52 | 67 | 75 | 81 |
| National Woodcutters' Rally – Rally for Gabon | 19 | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| Gabonese Progress Party | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic and Republican Alliance | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Social Democratic Party | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| People's Unity Party | 1 | 0 | – | – |
| Union of the Gabonese People | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Gabon of the Future | – | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Common Movement for Development | 1 | – | – | – |
| Circle of Liberal Reformers | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| Rally for Democracy and Progress | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| Independent Centre Party of Gabon | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development | – | – | 3 | – |
| Independents | 8 | 3 | 9 | 7 |
| Total | 91 | 91 | 102 | 100 |
| Source: DSG (1997, 2002), IPU (2009), IPU (2014) | ||||
See also
References
- Gabon: Freedom in the World 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - Beaumont, Peter (2023-08-30). "Gabon military officers declare coup after Ali Bongo wins disputed election". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- "Histoire - Sénat - République Gabonaise". 3 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-01-03.
- David E. Gardinier and Douglas A. Yates, Historical Dictionary of Gabon (third edition, 2006), Scarecrow Press, page 65.
- "Gabon: Elections sénatoriales 2009: le PDG en tête des résultats", Gabonews, 19 January 2009 (in French).
External links
- Website of the Senate of Gabon Archived 2016-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
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