Senate of Gabon

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 (52 seats) or appointed by the president (15 seats) for a six-year term.^[1] Beginning with the 2009 election, some constituencies elect two senators.

The status of the Parliament is unclear following the coup d'état four days after the 2023 general election.^[2]

The 1991 Constitution provided for the establishment of the Senate; previously the legislature had consisted of a unicameral National Assembly. The creation of Senate was approved on 18 March 1994.^[3] The Senate was not created until 1997, when an election was held to fill the seats in the upper house.^[4]

The first Senate president was Georges Rawiri (1932-2006), a long-time national political figure and close ally of Omar Bongo. He served in this position until his death in 2006.

He was replaced by René Radembino Coniquet, also a member of the Myéné ethnic group.

A Senate election was held on 18 January 2009. The ruling Gabonese Democratic Party won a large majority of seats.^[5] On this occasion, the number of senators was increased from 91 to 102. Following the election, Rose Francine Rogombé was elected as President of the Senate.

• List of presidents of the Senate of Gabon

• Website of the Senate of Gabon Archived 2016-03-02 at the Wayback Machine