afrol News, 26 April - The first official legislative election forecasts in Equatorial Guinea indicate "a long lead" for the ruling party, but with the opposition CPDS gaining a substantial part of the votes. The opposition again has denounced grave and systematic irregularities, and its own election observers confirm a close run in the poll.

The Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), Equatorial Guinea's only legal opposition party, is set to have received between 38 and 40 percent of the votes cast in the legislative and municipal elections yesterday, according to forecasts from CPDS election observers. While the ruling party again is set to win, this would nevertheless mean the first significant opposition representation in the Malabo parliament.

Clemente Engonga, President of the National Electoral Council, today told the press in Malabo that the ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) "has a long lead compared to other political parties." Equatoguineans yesterday went to the polls to elect their new parliament, to be composed of 100 MPs. In the outgoing parliament, the PDGE held 75 out of the 80 seats.

The national leadership of the opposition (CPDS) today announced that, after verifying documents from its election observers and in spite of the threatening behaviour of many PDGE election supervisors, the party would be receiving around 40 percent of the votes.

According to the Madrid-based Association of Democratic Solidarity with Equatorial Guinea (Asodegue), the CPDS forecast should translate into some 35-40 seats in the new parliament. Further, Asodegue holds, CPDS is set to conquer some 100 of the total of 244 local councilmen around the country, giving it a fair chance to take over power in some municipalities - which now all are under PDGE control.

In what have been the third multiparty legislative and municipal elections that have been held in the Spanish ex-colony, the possibilities of achieving political change have been slim. President Teodoro Obiang' PDGE, in power since a 1979 coup d'état, again will emerge the winner, thanks to irregularities and fraud, according to the opposition.

Also Asodegue confirms the CPDS claim of widespread fraud. In the towns of Evinayong, Ebebiyin, Añisok and other interior parts of mainland Rio Muni, the voters were let to vote one hour before the polling stations officially were to open and the practice of "public voting" in favour of the PDGE, known from earlier polls, was repeated, according to the Spanish group.

The interior of Rio Muni is the heartland of President Obiang, and here the PDGE was reported to have done anything possible to hinder opposition votes. In Ebebiyin, PDGE election supervisors were reported to behave so threatening that other supervisors withdrew from the polling station. Neither in Ebebiyin nor in Evinayong, the PDGE had announced the names of their candidates.

In the capital Malabo and in the Rio Muni major towns of Bata and Kogo, CPDS leader Plácido Micó has protested the opening of more than twenty polling stations that had not previously been announced and subsequently had no opposition election observers. The CPDS leadership claims that only in the two towns Rebola and Luba on Bioko Island, the proceeding of the voting had been correct.

On the other hand, Clemente Engonga, President of the National Electoral Council and Equatoguinean Minister of Interior, today announced the foreseen victory of the PDGE, according to the first counted votes. Also President Obiang yesterday confirmed he was "confident" that the PDGE would win the elections.

Mr Engonga however said that the counting process just had started and expected the the definitive official results to be published at the beginning of next week. The Minister, at the same time, denied the accusation of election fraud by the opposition. He claimed that no fraud of any type had been registered and described the proceedings of the elections as "totally normal throughout the country."

The PDGE has campaigned for increased social spending ahead of Sunday's poll, promising the oil-rich country would now provide electricity and clean water to Malabo and Bata. The CPDS, on the other hand, has emphasised on the need for democratisation, respecting human rights and transparency. It is generally believed that the opposition would have won if free and fair polls were to be held.

By staff writers

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories