MADRID, Dec. 9 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, has affirmed that he is “the guarantor of peace and stability” in the country after taking office for a new term and has stressed that he has the “overwhelming” support of the population, after of elections in which he has once again prevailed with close to 95 percent of the votes, amid allegations of fraud on the part of an already highly restricted opposition.
“Without fear of being wrong, I am, until now, the guarantor of peace and stability in our country,” said the president after being sworn in as president and extending his mandate for another seven years, as reported by the Press and Information Office from Equatorial Guinea. Obiang is the world’s longest-serving leader, having seized power in a 1979 coup against his uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema.
“Both in the monolithic system and in pluralism, the people of Equatorial Guinea have always been overwhelmingly supporting me with no less than 90 percent of votes in favor of my candidacy, which implies that the management that we are leading our country satisfies the people of Equatorial Guinea”, he explained during his inauguration speech.
Thus, he has thanked the population for the “positive response” to his “political, economic and administrative decisions”. “Your vote, dear compatriots, has not fallen on deaf ears. If we have achieved the development of our country out of nowhere, have the conviction that while I remain your president and with the resources available, we will use all our capabilities to that the well-being wishes of the people are fully fulfilled”.
“To do this, the political program that we have presented to the people will be executed one hundred percent and the design of the new programs will be in accordance with the current needs of the people based on the Horizon 2035 plan, which will be the priority of the new Government,” he said. pointed out the Equatorial Guinean president.
Obiang has also criticized the news in the foreign press, specifically in the Spanish and French media, citing the possible fraud in the November 20 elections. “It is perfectly understandable that, after the colonialists lost their hegemony in Africa, after several years of exploitation of our raw materials, they imposed the annulment of the one-party system that served as a platform to promote the unity of the African peoples, with the creation of a multi-party system that has served as a breeding ground for financing terrorism and organized crime,” he said.
“Today, like yesterday, the colonialists want to continue exploiting our raw materials and setting prices to lower their values. Several African countries do not enjoy their independence, as is also the case in certain European locations, such as the ‘yellow vests’ who protest against the injustice of the French government, and the demand for the independence of Catalonia in Spain, among other cases”, he stated.
Along these lines, he has applauded the military juntas of Mali and Burkina Faso and has argued that these countries “are fed up with interference in African affairs.” “Our country has been the victim of the injustices of the powers, the attitude of the colonialist has been the same to date, in fact, our independence was not obtained peacefully, but in wars”, he lamented, before emphasizing that ” Only by giving Africa back to the Africans, African problems, African solutions, would our continent reach the best levels of development”.
According to the scrutiny, Obiang prevailed in the presidential elections with 94.9 percent of the ballots, ahead of Andres Esono, from the Convergence for Social Democracy of Equatorial Guinea (CPDS), and Buenaventura Monsuy, from the Coalition Party. Social Democrat (PCSD). In addition, Obiang’s Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) has taken over all the seats at stake: the 100 in the Chamber of Deputies, the 55 elected in the Senate — which has 70 seats, although 15 are appointed directly by the president- and the 588 of the Municipal Elections, according to the data of the Commission.
The CPDS announced its rejection of the results of the November 20 elections, considering them “fraudulent, undemocratic and unfair” and demanded that they be “annulled” in view of a repetition of the vote. “The elections on November 20 have been a true electoral coup, given by a head of state who came to power through a palace coup and is willing to remain in power against the popular will,” said the opposition party.
Obiang, 80, has led Equatorial Guinea since the coup against his uncle, who became the country’s first president in 1968 after independence from Spain. Despite the fact that there are 18 legalized parties in the country, in practice there are no opponents with real options to remove Obiang from power, amid speculation about the possibility of a ‘dynastic’ succession that would lead to the rise of his son. Teodorin’, vice president since 2016.
