Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. It has an area of 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) and a population of 2.3 million people. There are coastal plains, mountains, and a savanna in the east. Libreville is the country's capital and largest city.
Little is known of the history of Gabon before European contact. Bantu migrants settled the area beginning in the 14th century. Portuguese explorers and traders arrived in the area in the late 15th century. The coast subsequently became a centre of the transatlantic slave trade with European slave traders arriving to the region in the 16th century. In 1839 and 1841, France established a protectorate over the coast. In 1849, captives released from a captured slave ship founded Libreville. In 1862–1887, France expanded its control including the interior of the state, and took full sovereignty. In 1910 Gabon became part of French Equatorial Africa and in 1960, Gabon became independent.
The politics of Gabon takes place in a framework of a republic whereby the president of Gabon is head of state and in effect, also the head of government, since he appoints the prime minister and his cabinet. The government is divided into three branches: the executive headed by the prime minister, the legislative that is formed by the two chambers of parliament, and the judicial branch. The judicial branch is technically independent and equal to the two other branches, although in practice since the president appoints its judges, it is beholden to the same president. Since independence, the party system has been dominated by the conservative Gabonese Democratic Party.
The president of Gabon is the head of state of Gabon. A total of three people have served as president since the post was formed in 1960.
The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the simultaneous termination of service of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assembly is chosen by a general election. Dissolution is distinct on the one hand from abolition of the assembly, and on the other hand from its adjournment or prorogation, or the ending of a legislative session, any of which begins a period of inactivity after which it is anticipated that the same members will reassemble. For example, the "second session of the fifth parliament" could be followed by the "third session of the fifth parliament" after a prorogation, but would be followed by the "first session of the sixth parliament" after a dissolution.
Elections in Venezuela are held at a national level for the President of Venezuela as head of state and head of government, and for a unicameral legislature. The President of Venezuela is elected for a six-year term by direct election plurality voting, and is eligible for re-election. The National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) has 277 members (diputados), elected for five-year terms using a mixed-member majoritarian representation system. Elections also take place at state level and local level.
The Council of Representatives is the de facto unicameral legislature of the Republic of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, it is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the country. As of 2020, it comprises 329 seats and meets in Baghdad inside the Green Zone.
The National Assembly, formerly known as the Chamber of Deputies, is the unicameral legislative branch of the government of Djibouti.
Ali Bongo Ondimba, also known as Ali Bongo and Ali Ben Bongo, is a Gabonese former politician who was the third president of Gabon from 2009 to 2023. He is a member of the Gabonese Democratic Party. He is the son of Omar Bongo, who was president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009. During his father's presidency, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1991, represented Bongoville as a deputy in the National Assembly from 1991 to 1999, and was the Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2009. After his father's death, he won the 2009 Gabonese presidential election. He was reelected in 2016, in elections marred by numerous irregularities, arrests, human rights violations, and post-election protests and violence.
The unicameral National Assembly is the legislative body of Burkina Faso. In 1995, it became the lower house of a bicameral parliament, but the upper house was abolished in 2002. The upper house was to have been restored under the name "Senate" in the June 2012 constitutional amendments. This revision was never executed due to an extended and unresolved political confrontation over the Senate's establishment, which left the country effectively with a unicameral legislature as of the October 2014 constitutional crisis.
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 or appointed by the president for a six-year term. Beginning with the 2009 election, some constituencies elect two senators.
The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Gabon. It has 143 members, elected by Two round system
The National Assembly of Thailand is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Sappaya-Sapasathan, Dusit District, Bangkok.
General elections were held in Burkina Faso on 29 November 2015. They were the first national elections in the country since the 2014 Burkinabé uprising and the departure of President Blaise Compaoré, who had ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years. Compaoré's party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress, was banned from presenting a presidential candidate in the presidential elections but was still able to participate in the parliamentary election.
This national electoral calendar for 2023 lists the national/federal elections held in 2023 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
General elections were held in Gabon on 26 August 2023. Incumbent president Ali Bongo ran for re-election, representing the Gabonese Democratic Party, which had ruled the country continuously since its independence from France in 1960, including 41 years under Bongo's father, Omar.
Events in the year 2023 in Gabon.
Albert Ondo Ossa is a Gabonese politician, member of civil society and associate professor of economics at Omar Bongo University.
This national electoral calendar for 2025 lists the national/federal elections scheduled to be held in 2025 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. Specific dates are given where these are known.
General elections are due to be held in Gabon on 22 March 2025. They will be the first elections in the country since the Bongo dynasty was overthrown in the 2023 coup after 56 years of rule.
