IFES Election Guide | Elections: Gabon National Assembly 2023

Aug. 26, 2023 Held

Gabonese Republic

Election for Assemblée Nationale (Gabonese National Assembly)

General Information

Note: Results are not available, as a coup occurred before the official results could be published by Gabonese election authorities.

At Stake in this Election:

All 143 seats of the National Assembly

This election will occur simultaneously with presidential and departmental and municipal council elections.

Government Structure:

Chief of State: President Ali BONGO Ondimba (since 16 October 2009)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Alain Claude BILIE-BY-NZE (since 9 January 2023)
Assembly: bicameral Parliament (Parlement) with a 67-seat Senate (Senat) and a 143-seat National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale)

Electoral System:

The President is directly elected by plurality vote and may serve an unlimited number of 5-year terms.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
Within the Senate, 15 members are appointed by the President, and 52 members are indirectly elected by municipal and departmental legislative bodies. Senators serve 5-year terms.
Within the National Assembly, all members are directly elected by plurality vote in single-seat constituencies and serve 5-year terms.

Last Election:

In 2018, the PDG won a majority of seats (98) in the National Assembly. The remaining seats were won by 11 parties and 8 independents.

New/Unique in this Election:

In 2023, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment that fixed presidential, parliamentary, and subnational council terms at five years, thus synchronizing their elections. Parliament also approved a change to the electoral code that reduced the number of election observers to 3 per polling station: 1 each to be named by majority party, the opposition, and independent candidates.

Key Deadlines:

Voter registration deadline: 8 June 2023

Main Candidates in this Election:

Gabonese Democratic Party / Parti Démocratique Gabonais (PDG)

Seats won in last election: 98 out of 143

The Democrats/ Les Démocrates (LD)

Seats won in last election: 11 out of 143

Restoration of Republican Values / Restauration des Valeurs Républicaines (RV)

Seats won in last election: 8 out of 143

Social Democrats of Gabon / Sociaux-Démocrates du Gabon
- Seats won in last election: 5 out of 143
Independent candidates
- Seats won in last election: 8 out of 143

Legacy and Modernity Rally / Rassemblement de l'Héritage et de la Modernité (RH&M)
- Seats won in last election: 4 out of 143

National Union / Union Nationale (UN)

Seats won in last election: 2 out of 143

Social Democratic Party / Parti Social-Démocrate (PSD)

Seats won in last election: 2 out of 143

Union for the New Republic / Union pour la nouvelle République (UPNR)

Seats won in last election: 1 out of 143

Circle of Liberal Reformers / Cercle des Libéraux Réformateurs (CLR)

Seats won in last election: 1 out of 143

Union for Democracy and Social Integration - Gabonese Democratic Party / Union pour la Démocratie et l'Intégration Sociale - Parti Démocratique Gabonais (UDIS-PDG): 1

Seats won in last election: 1 out of 143

RV-CEO

Seats won in last election: 1 out of 143

New Democracy / Nouvelle Démocratie

Seats won in last election: 1 out of 143

Population and Registered Voters:

Population: 2,397,368 (2023 est.)
Registered Voters: 680,194 (2018)

Gender Data:

Female Population: 1,158,149 (2023 est.)
CEDAW Status: Signed 17 July 1980, Ratified 21 January 1983
Gender Quota:  At least 30% of candidates on party lists for National Assembly elections must be women.
Female Candidates in this election: Yes
Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 16 out of 67 (23.9%) in the Senate, 21 out of 143 (14.7%) in the National Assembly