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.
“With the information provided, taking into account that it is only the first count of a very small percentage, the candidate Obiang Nguema Mbasogo would be the clear winner at these elections,” the government said. Final results are expected on Thursday and the winner will be sworn in on May 2, according to the statement.
The oil-producing country has been hammered by the drop in crude prices, with the International Monetary Fund predicting that its economy will contract by at least 7.4 percent this year, the worst performance in sub-Saharan Africa aside from South Sudan. The U.S. State Department’s latest human rights report accuses Obiang’s government of a litany of abuses from arbitrary arrests to corruption and discrimination.
Source: Obiang Has 99% of Equatorial Guinea Vote in Early Election Count – Bloomberg.
