Council for a Community of Democracies

Incumbent President Declared Victory in Equatorial Guinea
December 12, 2009
By: Randi Zung

International human rights group are calling into question the legitimacy of Equatorial Guinea’s November 30 elections after Incumbent Teodoro Obiang Nguema declared himself the winner of the Presidential race with 96.7% of the vote before all the ballots had been officially counted. According to Human Rights Watch, the elections were conducted in conditions, which “cast serious doubt about [their] credibility.” In addition, the international organization said the election was plagued with media censorship and harassment against members of the opposition parties. A July 2009 Human Rights Watch publication titled, “Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea,” documented how the government and ruling party were responsible for the country’s corruption. Despite claims from Obiang that Equatorial Guinea is “an authentic democracy,” Arvind Ganesan, director of the Business and Human Rights Program at Human Rights Watch stated: “[Obiang’s] actions time and again are those of a dictator determined to hang onto power and control of the country's oil money.”

The New York Times reports that the country’s oil profits that were accrued through corrupt political dealings have been used by Obiang, who originally seized power in a coup in 1979, to afford his family with a luxurious lifestyle. Despite these allegations of corruption, his oldest son constantly travels between Equatorial Guinea and the United States, even though the United States government has prohibited individuals from corrupt political countries being granted American visas. While the State Department has declined to formally comment on this situation, unofficially the lapse in policy has been attributed to Equatorial Guinea’s close ties with the American oil industry. Although Equatorial Guinea is the third-largest oil producer in the sub-Saharan Africa, AFP reports that a majority of its population lives in conditions of extreme poverty.

The country’s previous elections have also been criticized for being fraudulent. In the 2008 parliamentary elections, Obiang’s party, Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial won 99 of the 100 possible seats. Voice of America reports that opposition leaders are refusing to accept the election’s outcome. Placido Minko Abogo of the Convergence for Social Democracy Party said that some election officials were being forced to sign off on the electoral results at gunpoint. Almami Cyllah, regional director for Africa for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, stated that the international community will not recognize the country’s elections outcome as legitimate until the opposition parties are given a fair chance to participate equally. CNN reports that a statement from Equatorial Guinea’s government declared that the elections were conducted “in an atmosphere of tranquility and peace.”

Source:
CNN - President Wins Controversial Equatorial Guinea Vote
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/11/30/equatorial.guinea.elections/

AFP - Eq.Guinea Re-elected Leader Vows 'Progress and Peace'
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gmBn96S2OIyvVKqYeLt23qowz0Qw

Voice of America - Incumbent Obiang Declares Victory in Equatorial Guinea Vote
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Incumbent-Obiang-Declares-Victory-in-Equatorial-Guinea-Vote-78237612.html

Human Rights Watch - Equatorial Guinea: Human Rights Concerns Taint Election
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/24/equatorial-guinea-human-rights-concerns-taint-election

New York Times - Taint of Corruption Is No Barrier to U.S. Visa
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/us/17visa.html?scp=1&sq=obiang%20visa&st=cs