Voting rights in Gabon
Introduction
Gabon, the official name of which is Gabonese Republic, is an African country that is located on the west coast of the continent – the area that is believed to be one of the most stable in the whole Africa. The capital and the biggest city is Libreville with the population of 450 000 citizens, while the total population of the country is quiet small – only 1.5 million people. Though the population of the country is not big, it is considered to be the nation with one of the highest income per capita in Africa. In addition to oil, Gabon also produces manganese, uranium and timber. People in Gabon speak many different languages and dialects: the main language is French and also a group of Bantu languages. For many decades Gabon had been one of four territories that belonged to French Equatorial Africa, however in 1958 the population of the country voted in order to become autonomous in the French Community. The voting was successful and in 1960 Gabon approached independence. (Gabon Country Profile) Gabon is characterized as a country with peace and a rapid economic growth. Moreover, because of a low population and population density with only 4.5 people per square km, Gabon is also a place that attracts many immigrants from other African countries – mostly from Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and Mali. An interesting fact also is that Gabon is one of the countries with the youngest population: according to the recent surveys, almost a half population of Gabon is young people at the age 16 years and younger. (Warne 2)
The purpose of this paper to discover political and governmental system of Gabon in more detail in order to find out, what type of government the country has and what is its voting system in comparison with other countries in Africa.
Gabon is a country with a republican form of government that has a strong presidential power. The main key figure and a chief of the nation is president, whose name is Ali Bongo Ondimba, while the head of government is a Prime Minister – Daniel Ona Ondo. It is interesting to note that since becoming independent in 1960 Gabon had only three presidents. The Gabonese Constitution was adopted in one year after receiving independence - in 1961, and it was rewritten later in 1991. The Constitution emphasizes the power of the president and contains provisions of a bill of rights. There is also a council, the task of which is to protect those rights.
There are three main powers in Gabonese government: executive, judicial and legislative. According to the executive branch, president is the head of the state and he has a very strong power. The president is responsible for appointment and dismissal of a prime minister, as well as judges of supreme and the cabinet. He also has power to delay legislation and dissolve the national assembly. President is elected every 7 years by plurality vote. The prime minister also plays an important role in the executive branch since he is responsible for all day to day government operations. In terms of judicial branch, it upholds the constitution of the country and is considered to be the highest court of the state. There are 9 constitutional court judges in Gabon and they are appointed every seven years as follows: 3 of them by the national president, 3 by the president of the senate and the rest – by the president of the national assembly. The last third branch that is legislative is the one that is responsible for creating laws in the country. The key elements of the legislative branch are senate and assembly that are appointed every 5 years. The senate is appointed by members of municipal councils, while the assembly – by majority votes in single member constituencies. (Gabon: Government)
Thus, summarizing information provided about government in Gabon above, it is possible to draw a conclusion that this country has a democratic type of government.
Rights to vote in Gabon
According to constitution that was created and approved in 1961, all citizens of the nation have a number of rights, and all their individual and civil rights are highly respected and protected. Besides rights to have education, to work and a number of other basic rights, Gabonese people have also freedom to participate in the political process. Despite the fact that all candidates for political office must have the approval of the single authorized party, there is a high and considerable competition within the DPG for nomination to public office. According to the constitution, president in Gabon is elected every seven years by universal suffrage concurrently with the deputies of the unicameral National Assembly. (The U.S. Department of State) This right to vote, along with other rights, Gabonese citizens received in 1991 when a new constitution was created and enacted. According to the constitution and its law, the Republic of Gabon guarantees equality before the law of all citizens without distinction of origin, race, or religion, and the beliefs of citizens are highly respected. In terms of elections and the right to vote, it is mentioned in the constitution that national sovereignty derives from the people, who exercise it directly by election and referendum, which basically means that the rights to vote and to choose the government given to Gabonese people is a sign of independence and sovereignty of the whole country. Therefore, this right is so important and so highly respected.
The constitution claims that the right to vote is universal, equal and secret. It might be both direct and indirect under the conditions stipulated by the Constitution or by the Law. The right to vote is owned by all Gabonese citizens of both genders, who have approached the age of 21 years and who enjoy political and civil rights. In terms of the age, it can be reduced to 18 years in cases stipulated by government’s law. An important aspect that needs to be mentioned that women in Gabon are considered to be equal to men and therefore have the same right to vote since 1956, which is not very common in the rest of African countries. (2010 Human Rights Report: Gabon) The main institution and organ that supervises the regularity of referendum procedures in Gabon is the Supreme Court. It is also responsible for proclaiming results. (Peaslee 208)
Though Gabon is considered to be a sovereign country since 1960, when it officially proclaimed its independence, the right to vote was received by citizens only 1990-1991 together with the new constitution. The same year the first elections for the National Assembly were conducted, which have become a milestone for the country’s development and started a political process for the first time in thirty years. (The Report: Gabon 2010) The same years multi-party legislative elections were conducted, even though opposition partied had not been yet proved to be legal.
It is interesting to note that the right of Gabonese people to vote proves a strong power of presidents in the country and the high level of trust that Gabonese people demonstrate towards presidents. Thus, the first president El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba was elected in 1967 and stayed in power until his death in 2009. According to the statistics of Gabon’s Interior Ministry in his last election in 2005 he received 79.1% majority of votes. The second president was the son of Omar Bongo, who was elected in 2009. In terms of presidential elections, the power of presidents in Gabon is proved by the fact that in 2003 the President decided to remove all restrictions in regards to the number of terms a president is allowed to be in power. (Gabon Foreign Policy and Government Guide 48)
However, despite the democratic character of elections and the right to vote that exists for all people in Gabon, there are though problems and contradictions in government and Gabon’s politics especially in regards to election process. For example, in September 2009, when the new president Ali Ben Bongo was elected, the opposition parties, who also have a strong power in the country, contested the results. It led to the calls of boycott and accusations of electoral bribery and fraud. However, despite this, international observers of elections including representatives from the Economic Community of Central African States have claimed that elections were conducted in accordance with international standards, and the voting was absolutely democratic. Thus, Gabonese people were urged to accept the results of elections and the new president was provided with security from military force. (Diallo)
The election process in Gabon, as well as the power of president is also highly criticized because it is claimed that actually, despite the right to vote, Gabonese citizens have only limited ability to criticize the government, election results and make any changes. For example, it has been claimed that those people, who support opposition and participate in protests against the election results are arrested. Moreover, as Gabonese Human Rights activists claim, in 2009 many protesting people were killed by Gabonese military in the city of Port-Gentil. (Gabon Human Rights)
Summarizing all the written above regarding Gabon, its government and existing rights of citizens there, it is possible to say that Gabon is a small but very stable country with a strong presidential power. Moreover, in contrast to many other African countries, Gabon respect and protects the rights of its citizens by giving them opportunity to vote and choose the heads of the country and government. According to the Constitution, all citizens of Gabon at the age of 21 years and older regardless their social status and gender, have right to vote, which is considered as one of the most important and primary human rights. Thus, it is possible to say that Gabon has a democratic government that is very powerful at the same time.
Works Cited
“2010 Human Rights Report: Gabon”. U.S. Department of State: Diplomacy in Action. U.S. State Department. 8 Apr 2011. Web. 15 May 2016.
Diallo, Nassirou. “In Gabon, censorship lingers from 2009 vote”. Committee to Protect Journalists. Committee to Protect Journalists.2009. Web. 15 May 2016.
“Gabon Country Profile” BBC News. BBC News Services. 22 Dec 2015. Web. 14 May 2016.
“Gabon: Government”. Global Edge. Michigan State University. n.d. Web. 14 May 2016.
Gabon Foreign Policy and Government Guide. Washington: International Business Publications. 2011. Print
“Gabon Human Rights”. Amnesty International. Amnesty International USA. 2016. Web. 15 May 2016.
Peaslee, Amos. Constitutions of Nations. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. 1974. Print.
“The Report: Gabon 2010” Oxford Business Group. Oxford Business Group. 2010. Web. 15 May 2016.
The U.S. Department of State. “Annual Human Rights Reports Submitted to Congress”. The U.S. Department of State. 5 (1978): 58-61. Web
Warne, Sophie. Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe: The Bradt Travel Guide. Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press. 2003. Print
