Equatorial Guinea: Ruling party expected to maintain grip as nation votes | AFP

Voting in Equatorial Guinea ended Sunday, with the opposition alleging fraud and irregularities in elections that the ruling party was expected to sweep and maintain its firm grip over the tiny oil-rich country. Internet access was completely cut in a country where opposition websites have been blocked since 2013. Since the start of the election campaign on October 27, Facebook has been inaccessible as well. In the capital Malabo, queues of people waiting to vote formed early as most polling stations opened on schedule and were very busy most of the morning, an AFP correspondent said. Security forces were deployed and private vehicles banned for the day. Residents complained that this had left them unable to go to polling stations — often located very far from their homes — which were mostly closed by 1700 GMT, one hour before the official end of polling.

Equatorial Guinea: The world’s longest-serving president just won a sixth term with 99% of the vote | The Washington Post

Teodoro Obiang Nguema has never received less than 97 percent of the vote in an election. On Monday, with partial results indicating that 99.2 percent of the vote has gone in his favor, Equatorial Guinea’s leader was surely all set for another seven years in a seat that has no doubt molded to his figure. One-sixth of African countries have an executive who has been in power for more than 20 years — that’s nine out of 54. Obiang, who took power nearly 37 years ago in a bloody coup, is in the company of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (who turned 92 in February), Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and King Mswati III of Swaziland. But Obiang is most similar to — and most closely followed in terms of the number of years in office by — José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola.

Equatorial Guinea: Obiang Has 99% of Equatorial Guinea Vote in Early Election Count | Bloomberg

Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang received 99 percent of the early vote count from Sunday’s election in the two most-populous areas, the government said. Obiang, 73, obtained 40,600 votes out of 40,926 in partial results tallied in the capital, Malabo, and the port city of Bata, according to a statement on the government’s website. Already Africa’s longest-serving leader, Obiang is on track to beat out six other candidates for another seven-year term.

Equatorial Guinea: Election expected to extend president’s 37-year rule | Reuters

Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang is expected to extend his 37-year rule after elections on Sunday which he says will give him more than 90 percent of the vote. Obiang, Africa’s longest-serving leader, has ruled the former Spanish colony since 1979 when he ousted his uncle in a military coup. Opponents say elections in the small West African oil producer have been consistently rigged and some have called for a boycott. Voting went ahead peacefully and without incident on Sunday, observers said, although in some regions there appeared to be a low turnout. Casting his ballot, 73-year-old Obiang said that those voting for him “were voting for the continued development of Equatorial Guinea”.

Equatorial Guinea: Opposition cries foul after leader’s party sweeps vote | Reuters

Equatorial Guinea’s main opposition movement cried foul on Tuesday after the president’s party announced it had won all but two seats in last month’s parliamentary election in the tiny oil-rich West African state. President Teodoro Nguema Obiang’s ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) won 99 of the 100 seats in the lower house of assembly and 54 of 55 senate seats in the May 26 vote, the government said on its website on Saturday. The Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS) party will be the only opposition group represented in parliament, with one seat in the lower house and one in the senate. “These results have nothing to do with the votes people actually cast,” Placido Mico, secretary-general of the CPDS, told Reuters. “We completely reject these results … This is a real fraud, in total violation of the law.”

Equatorial Guinea: Polls completed in Equatorial Guinea | IOL News

Equatorial Guinea voted on Sunday in local and legislative elections denounced as a sham by the opposition, with the party of Africa’s longest serving leader expected to clinch an overwhelming victory. The small West African nation, the continent’s third-largest oil producer, has been under the iron-fisted rule of Teodoro Obiang Nguema for 34 years and successive elections have been widely seen as flawed. “These are sham elections, just like the other elections organised by the Obiang dictatorship,” said Placido Mico, the lone opposition lawmaker in a parliament where Obiang’s PDGE holds 99 of the 100 seats.

Equatorial Guinea: Facebook and opposition websites blocked ahead of elections | Reuters

Reporters Without Borders condemns the government’s blocking of access to Facebook and certain opposition websites since 12 May. The targets include the site of the main opposition party, Convergence For Social Democracy (CPDS), which is fielding candidates for the 26 May parliamentary and municipal elections. At the same time, the website of the ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) continues to be fully accessible.

Equatorial Guinea: Human Rights Concerns Ahead of Elections | Human Rights Watch

Serious human rights violations and denial of fundamental freedoms in Equatorial Guinea are casting a shadow over campaigning ahead of the May 26, 2013 legislative elections, Amnesty International, EG Justice, and Human Rights Watch said in a statement released today. The organizations expressed concern over several incidents of politically motivated arrests in recent months. They also cited ongoing harassment of the country’s political opposition, reports of voter intimidation, and the denial of free speech and other rights in the lead-up to the election. Human Rights Watch and EG Justice also expressed concern about biased electoral processes and restrictive conditions for international observers.