The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in power since 1979, is at the head of the presidential election with a large lead, according to the provisional results made public Monday, November 21 by the Minister of the Interior.
In this race for a sixth seven-year term, Teodoro Obiang currently obtains 44.2% of the votes cast in nearly half of the country's polling stations.
Very far behind the outgoing president, the opponents Andrés Esono Ondo of Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), the only opposition party that is not banned, and Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu of the Social Democratic Coalition Party (PCSD) respectively obtain 1.34% and 0.35% of the votes.
The final results of this one-round election will be officially announced on Saturday 26 November.
World record longevity in power
In power for 43 years, Teodoro Obiang, who holds the world record for longevity in power for a head of state outside the monarchy, is on his way to victory with the backing of a coalition of 15 parties, including the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea ( PDGE) in power.
The all-powerful presidential party holds 99 of the 100 seats in the outgoing National Assembly and 55 in the Senate, which must also be renewed during this ballot, which also includes the municipal elections.
In the last presidential election, in 2016, the outgoing president obtained 93.7% of the vote, according to official results.
The 80-year-old head of state seized power in a coup in 1979 in this small Central African oil country independent of Spain since 1968. His regime is regularly accused by international NGOs and Western capitals for suppressing opposition and trampling on human rights, and blamed for endemic corruption.
With AFP
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