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Gabon

Monthly Event Reports

September 2023 | Military junta enacts transitional charter, re-establishing institutions

The junta that deposed Ali Bongo Ondimba in August moved quickly to consolidate power after reopening the national borders in September. General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was sworn in as ‘President of the Transition’ on 4 September. This investiture was enabled by a Transitional Charter that was published the same day. The Transitional Charter claims to supersede all other national laws and gives a great deal of power to the President. However, it also provides for transitional institutions including a National Assembly, a Senate, and a Constitutional Court, re-establishing institutions that had been declared to be dissolved by the coup. The Charter promises free and transparent elections but specifies no timeline for these to take place. Notably, the Transitional Charter forbids many officials in the transitional institutions from running for President in the elections to follow but does not prevent the President of the Transition from standing as a candidate. Also of note in September: former opposition presidential candidate (and former prime minister) Raymond Ndong Sima was appointed Prime Minister in the transitional government on 11 September.

August 2023 | President Bongo removed by a military coup immediately after elections
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Gabon held elections for the president, members of the national assembly, and municipal councils on 26 August. The election took place without any international observers, and the government instituted both an Internet shutdown and a curfew as the polls closed. The official result was announced by the electoral commission on 30 August, giving President Ali Bongo Ondimba a third term as he was said to have received 64.3 per cent of the vote, well ahead of the leading opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa, who received 30.7 per cent. Opposition parties alleged that the official result was fraudulent. Shortly after the electoral commission’s announcement, factions of the military led by General Brice Oligui Nguema staged a coup d’état and removed President Ali Bongo Ondimba from power. In a televised address, coup leaders announced that the recent election was annulled, and that government institutions had been dissolved, including the legislature and the Constitutional Court. President Bongo was detained for a week after the coup. General Oligui was sworn in as the interim president on 4 September, promising elections but not specifying a timeline for a return to civilian rule. The coup was condemned by the international community, and Gabon was suspended from the African Union.

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
2 278 830
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima (interim since 2023)
Head of government party
Gabonese Democratic Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Two-Round System
Women in lower or single chamber
24.5%
Women in upper chamber
21.4%
Last legislative election
2023
Head of state
Brice Oligui Nguema (transitional president since 2023)
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (plurality)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
07/11/2017
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
86.14%
Population Tooltip
2 278 830
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima (interim since 2023)
Head of government party
Gabonese Democratic Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Two-Round System
Women in lower or single chamber
24.5%
Women in upper chamber
21.4%
Last legislative election
2023
Head of state
Brice Oligui Nguema (transitional president since 2023)
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (plurality)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
07/11/2017
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
86.14%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
Signatory
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

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Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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