in the face of repressed opposition, President Obiang re-elected with 94.9% of the vote

Published on : 27/11/2022 – 12:20Modified : 27/11/2022 – 12:21

The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, was re-elected without surprise with 94.9% of the vote for a sixth term, on Saturday, in this small oil state in Central Africa with one of the most closed and authoritarian regimes in the world. .

With more than 43 years, he holds the world record for longevity in power for a living head of state. The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogoin power since 1979, was re-elected without surprise with a triumphant official score of 94.9% in the presidential election, in a country he holds with an iron fist and in the face of muzzled opposition.

“The National Electoral Commission proclaims the candidate Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea for the next 7 years”, announced Faustino Ndong Esono Eyang, President of the Electoral Commission, who specified that the participation rate stood at 98%. .

The re-election of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo left little doubt. He has always been elected with more than 93% of the vote, at the head of a coalition of 15 parties led by his all-powerful Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE). Several of his supporters exulted in the room at the announcement of the results, with cries of “Obiang best president”, while in the streets of the capital, Malabo, the atmosphere was calm, without outpouring of joy or particular celebrations. , noted an AFP journalist.

In addition to the presidential election, the PDGE and its coalition won all 100 seats for deputies and 55 for senators at stake in the legislative and local elections which were held simultaneously. The PDGE, which had 99 seats in the outgoing National Assembly, even won a deputy.

The percentages obtained by the opposition candidates, Andrés Esono Ondo of Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), the only opposition party that is not banned, and Bonaventura Monsuy Asumu, of the Social Democratic Coalition Party (PCSD) , were not disclosed. They won 9,684 and 2,855 votes respectively – out of more than 400,000 voters – in one of the most closed and authoritarian regimes in the world where the opposition remains repressed and muzzled.

A campaign of arrests before the election

Andrés Esono Ondo had denounced “massive fraud” in advance. “The regime discriminates and the government governs only for the Obiang family,” he said before the election, denouncing what he considers a “dictatorship”. Contacted by AFP, the main opposition candidate did not react to the results immediately.

In the weeks leading up to the ballot, as before each election, the security forces carried out a ruthless campaign of arrests of opponents. On the grounds this time, according to the regime, that they thwarted an opposition “plot” planning “attacks” in Malabo and Bata, the economic capital.

“The final results of the poll once once more prove us right. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo re-elected president with 94.9% of the vote, which is equivalent to 405,910 votes. We continue to prove that we are a great political party,” wrote on Twitter his son, Theodore Nguema Obiang Manguealias Teodorin, vice-president of the country and a time approached to succeed him.

A total of 427,661 Equatoguineans out of 1.4 million inhabitants were registered on the electoral lists of this small central African oil state led for four decades by Mr. Obiang, who holds the record for longevity of heads of state in exercise, excluding monarchs.

Nearly 80% of the population below the poverty line

The 80-year-old head of state seized power in a coup in 1979 in this country independent of Spain since 1968. His regime is regularly accused by international NGOs and Western capitals of repressing any opposition and trampling on human rights, and blamed for endemic corruption.

“The history of Equatorial Guinea has been repeating itself for 43 years and the political vision established by the government will continue following this election. It was predictable, including for the opposition. We even expected a score closer to the 98%”, reacted to AFP Justo Bolekia, Equatoguinean writer and professor at the University of Salamanca.

Third oil producer and third richest country in sub-Saharan Africa by GDP per capita in 2021, according to the World Bank, the bulk of Equatorial Guinea’s wealth remains concentrated in the hands of a few.

The Bretton Woods institution has no recent data on the country but it estimated in 2006, when the oil windfall was in full swing, that nearly 80% of the population lived below the poverty line (less than 1 $.9 per day per capita).

With AFP