CNN
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Preliminary election outcomes launched by Equatorial Guinea’s authorities on Monday confirmed the ruling celebration profitable over 99% of votes counted to date in presidential, legislative, and municipal elections held on Sunday.
The tiny, authoritarian, oil-producing Central African state is run by President Teodoro Obiang, the world’s longest-ruling head of state, who’s in search of to increase his 43 years in workplace.
“What you sow is what you reap,” mentioned Obiang, 80, who has repeatedly gained greater than 90 p.c of the vote in elections carried out over the course of 5 phrases since he seized energy from his uncle in a coup in 1979.
“I’m positive that the victory is for PDGE,” he mentioned, referring to his celebration.
Two opposition candidates are standing: Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu, who has already stood within the earlier 5 elections, and Andrés Esono Ondo, who’s working for the primary time.
Early, partial outcomes confirmed Obiang’s ruling Democratic Social gathering of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) and coalition with 67,012 votes out of 67,196 counted to date. The depend will proceed on Monday, mentioned a press release on the federal government web site.
Greater than 400,000 individuals registered to vote within the nation of about 1.5 million, which is cut up between the island of Bioko within the Gulf of Guinea and a coastal mainland sandwiched between Cameroon and Gabon.
“It’s a complete fraud,” Esono Ondo informed Reuters by cellphone, saying his celebration would problem the end in courtroom.
He mentioned some semblance of honest voting was happening within the island capital Malabo, however his celebration had proof that officers elsewhere have been casting ballots on voters’ behalf or forcing them to vote for the ruling celebration.
Authorities and officers of Equatorial Guinea’s election directorate couldn’t be reached for remark.
Maja Bovcon, a senior Africa analyst in danger intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, mentioned the election consequence was in little question: “The closure of the borders and the harassment and arrests of opposition supporters have been paving the best way for the extension of Obiang’s 43-year rule.”
The US and the European Union known as for a free and honest election and raised concern over studies of harassment and intimidation of the opposition and civil society teams. The federal government rejected the accusations as interference in its electoral course of.
Closing his marketing campaign on Friday, Obiang mentioned he determined to convey the presidential election ahead by a number of months and maintain it along with the legislative and municipal elections, to save cash as a result of financial disaster.
Oil and fuel manufacturing accounts for round three quarters of revenues within the OPEC member state. However output has dwindled lately to round 93,000 barrels per day (bpd), from round 160,000 bpd in 2015, as oil fields mature.
