Equatorial Guinea ruling party wins 99% of votes in early results

Preliminary election results released by Equatorial Guinea’s government on Monday showed the ruling party winning over 99 percent of votes counted so far in presidential, legislative, and municipal elections held on Sunday, November 20.

The tiny oil-producing Central African state is run by 80-year-old President Teodoro Obiang, the world’s longest-ruling head of state, who is seeking to extend his 43 years in office.

Equatorial Guinea has had only two presidents since independence from Spain in 1968; Obiang and his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema, who he removed in a coup in 1979.

This time, two opposition candidates are standing in the way of a sixth term for the president: Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu, who has run in the previous five elections, and Andrés Esono Ondo, who is running for the first time.

Early partial results showed Obiang’s ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) and coalition with 67,012 votes out of 67,196 counted so far. The count will continue on Monday, said a statement on the government website.

More than 400,000 people registered to vote in the country of about 1.5 million, which is split between the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea and a coastal mainland sandwiched between Cameroon and Gabon.