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.”
A government spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Obiang has ruled the former Spanish colony since 1979, when he ousted his uncle in a military coup, making him Africa’s longest-serving leader.
An African Union election observers mission said the May 26 vote was carried out peacefully, but noted the lack of national observers and representatives of opposition parties in many voting stations.
Full Article: E.Guinea opposition cries foul after leader’s party sweeps vote | Reuters.
