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Gabon: Presidents
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Under the 1961 constitution (revised in 1975, rewritten in 1991, and revised in 2003), Gabon is a republic with a presidential form of government. The National Assembly has 120 deputies elected for a 5-year term. The president is elected by universal suffrage for a 7-year term. The president can appoint and dismiss the prime minister, the cabinet, and judges of the independent Supreme Court. The president ... has other strong powers, such as authority to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, and conduct referenda. A 2003 constitutional amendment removed presidential term limits and facilitated a presidency for life.
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Under the 1961 constitution (revised in 1975 and rewritten in 1991), Gabon became a republic with a presidential form of government. The unicameral National Assembly has 120 deputies elected by universal suffrage... for a five-year term. In 1990 the government made major changes in the political system. A transitional constitution was drafted in May 1990, as an outgrowth of a national political conference in March and April and later revised by a constitutional committee. Among its provisions are a Western-style bill of rights; creation of a National Council of Democracy, which oversees the guarantee of those rights; a governmental advisor board on economic and social issues; and an independent judiciary. In January 1991, the Assembly passed by unanimous vote a law governing the legalization of opposition parties.
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Gabon's president Omar Bongo Ondimba becomes the doyen of non-royal ruling heads of state around the world after the retirement of Cuba's Fidel Castro after 49 years in power. via Political Gateway
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Gabon is controlled by the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), led since 1967 by President Alhadji Omar Bongo Ondimba. Titularly a republic, Gabon's government is a centralized, autocratic presidential bureaucracy where power is distributed largely through patronage. When no parliamentary assembly is in session, the president has the power to veto legislation that has been passed. He can dissolve the national assembly, call a new election, or govern by presidential decree. The police and the Defense Ministry's gendarmerie are responsible for public security. The president is protected by a heavily armed Republican Guard.
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Under the 1961 constitution, as amended, the president of Gabon was directly elected for a 7-year term, serving as both chief of state and head of government. The unicameral National Assembly comprised 111 elected and 9 appointed members. The Gabonese Democratic party was the sole legal political party. Gabon entered a period of political transition as the 1990s began. The ruling Gabonese Democratic party was reconstituted, and the ban on multiparty politics was lifted. A new constitution was adopted in March 1991.
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At the time of Gabon's independence in 1960, two principal political parties existed: the Bloc Democratique Gabonais (BDG), led by Leon M'Ba, and the Union Democratique et Sociale Gabonaise (UDSG), led by J.H. Aubame. In the first post-independence election, held under a parliamentary system, neither party was able to win a majority. The BDG obtained support from three of the four independent legislative deputies, and M'Ba was named Prime Minister. Soon after concluding that Gabon had an insufficient number of people for a two-party system, the two party leaders agreed on a single list of candidates. In the February 1961 election, held under the new presidential system, M'Ba became President and Aubame became Foreign Minister.
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