When M'ba dissolved the National Assembly in January 1964 to institute one-party rule, an army coup sought to oust him from power and restore parliamentary democracy.

Bongo sought to forge a single national movement in support of the government's development policies, using PDG as a tool to submerge the regional and tribal rivalries that had divided Gabonese politics in the past.

[17] The April 1990 conference approved political reforms, including creation of a national Senate, decentralization of the budgetary process, freedom of assembly and press, and cancellation of an exit visa requirement.

In an attempt to guide the political system's transformation to multiparty democracy, Bongo resigned as PDG chairman and created a transitional government headed by a new Prime Minister, Casimir Oye-Mba.

RSDG drafted a provisional constitution in May 1990 that provided a basic bill of rights and an independent judiciary and retained "strong" executive powers for the president.

Legislative elections held in 2001–2002 were boycotted by a number of smaller opposition parties and were criticized for their administrative weaknesses, produced a National Assembly dominated by PDG and allied independents.

Some seats contested because of voting irregularities were overturned by the Constitutional Court, and the subsequent run-off elections in 2007 yielded a PDG-controlled National Assembly.

[17] Following the death of President Omar Bongo on 8 June 2009 due to cardiac arrest at a Spanish hospital in Barcelona, Gabon entered a period of political transition.

The subsequent presidential elections, held on 30 August 2009, marked a historic moment as they were the first in Gabon's history not to feature Omar Bongo as a candidate.

After a rigorous three-week review by the Constitutional Court, Ali Bongo was officially declared the winner, leading to his inauguration on 16 October 2009.

[17] In June 2010, a partial legislative by-election was held, marking the emergence of the Union Nationale (UN) coalition, primarily comprising defectors from the ruling PDG party following Omar Bongo's death.

The president has other powers such as authority to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, and conduct referendums.

[17] After President Omar Bongo was re-elected in 1993, in a disputed election where only 51% of votes were cast, social and political disturbances led to the 1994 Paris Conference and Accords.

In an effort to reduce corruption and government bloat, he eliminated 17 minister-level positions, abolished the Vice Presidency and reorganized the portfolios of some ministries, bureaus and directorates.

Under this program, exports of raw timber have been banned, a government-wide census was held, the work day was changed to eliminate a long midday break, and a national oil company was created.

AU chairman Jean Ping said that Mba Obame's action "hurts the integrity of legitimate institutions and also endangers the peace, the security and the stability of Gabon.

Protests broke out in the capital and met a repression which culminated in the alleged bombing of opposition party headquarters by the presidential guard.

In intra-African affairs, it espouses development by evolution rather than revolution and favours regulated private enterprise as the system most likely to promote rapid economic growth.

In December 1999, through the mediation efforts of President Bongo, a peace accord was signed in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) between the government and most leaders of an armed rebellion.

Gabon was elected to a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for January 2010 through December 2011 and held the rotating presidency in March 2010.

[34] Geologically, Gabon is primarily Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic basement rock, belonging to the stable continental crust of the Congo Craton.

[17] The rich Grondin Oil Field was discovered in 1971 in 50 m (160 ft) water depths 40 km (25 mi) offshore in an anticline salt structural trap in Batanga sandstones of Maastrichtian age, but about 60% of its estimated reserves had been extracted by 1978.

[45] "Overspending" on the Trans-Gabon Railway, the CFA franc devaluation of 1994, and periods of lower oil prices caused debt problems.

[17] Successive International Monetary Fund (IMF) missions have criticized the Gabonaise government for overspending on off-budget items (in good years and bad), over-borrowing from the central bank, and slipping on the schedule for privatization and administrative reform.

Because of the financial crisis and social developments surrounding the death of President Omar Bongo and the elections, Gabon was unable to meet its economic goals under the Stand-By Arrangement in 2009.

[17] At World Bank and IMF insistence, the government embarked in the 1990s on a program of privatization of its state-owned companies and administrative reform, including reducing public sector employment and salary growth.

Nationally, a majority of the Gabonese people speak indigenous languages according to their ethnic group; this proportion is lower than in most other Sub-Saharan African countries.

Custodians of these traditions, known as "raconteurs," diligently work to ensure their continuity, nurturing practices like the mvett among the Fangs and the Ingwala among the Nzebis.

Crafted by traditionalists using rare local woods and other precious materials, these masks serve as artistic expressions and vessels of cultural heritage.

[69] Since 2006, Gabon has hosted La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, a professional week long bicycle race which includes both European and African teams.