Gabon: the revamped Senate returns to parliament
Palace of the Senate of Gabon in Libreville (illustrative image) © / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Vincent.Vaquin
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
This Monday March 1 marks the start of the parliamentary term in the Senate, the upper house of Parliament.
More than 20 years after the creation of this institution, the Senate which signs its return will not be the same as the one that existed before.
From 102 senators at the start, the number has been reduced almost by half as well as certain powers of its president.
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With our correspondent in Libreville,
Yves Laurent Goma
It will be a long day for the 67 senators.
In the morning, they will meet to elect the president of the institution and his deputies.
It is a strong moment, because in the order of protocol, the president of the Senate is a very important personality in Gabon.
Since the creation of this 2nd chamber of Parliament 24 years ago, the President of the Senate had the prerogative to act as the President of the Republic in the event of a vacancy in power.
From now on, in the event of a vacancy in power, the President of the Senate will no longer act alone for the President of the Republic but with the President of the National Assembly and the Minister of Defense, according to a
recent amendment to the Constitution
.
At the beginning of the afternoon, senators will meet for the opening of their first session.
And physical distancing will be easier to respect in the hemicycle since their number has been reduced from 102 to 67. Another novelty, of these 67 senators, 52 are elected by indirect suffrage as before, while 15 others are appointed by the president of the Republic, a first made possible following the same modification of the Constitution.
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