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The politics of Equatorial Guinea take place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President is both the head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Chamber of People's Representatives [1] [2]
A great deal of political party activity ensued when Equatorial Guinea attained autonomy from Spain in 1963. Bubi and Fernandino parties on the island preferred separation from Río Muni or a loose federation. Ethnically based parties in Río Muni favored independence for a united country comprising Bioko and Río Muni, an approach that was adopted. The Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island (MAIB), which advocates independence for the island under Bubi control, is one of the offshoots of the era immediately preceding independence.
Equatorial Guinea became independent from Spain on October 12, 1968. Since then, the country has had two presidents: Francisco Macías Nguema, who had been the mayor of Mongomo under the Spanish colonial government, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Macías's nephew, who has ruled since 1979, when he staged a military coup d'état and executed his uncle. When Macías came to power, political activity largely ceased. Opposition figures among the exile communities in Spain and elsewhere agitated for reforms; some of them had been employed in the Macías and Obiang governments. After political activities in Equatorial Guinea were legalized in the early 1990s, some opposition leaders returned to test the waters, but repressive actions have continued sporadically.
The 1982 Constitution gives Obiang extensive powers, including the right to name, and dismiss, members of the cabinet. The 1982 constitution also give him the power to make laws by decree, dissolve the Chamber of Representatives, negotiate and ratify international treaties, and calling legislative elections. Obiang retained his role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and minister of defense when he became president and he maintains close supervision of military activity. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and operates under powers designated by the president. The prime minister coordinates government activities in areas other than foreign affairs, national defense and security.
With the prodding of the United Nations, the United States, Spain, and other donor countries, the government undertook an electoral census in 1995 and held freely contested municipal elections, the country's first, in September. Most observers agree that these elections were relatively free and transparent and also that the opposition parties garnered between 2/3 and 3/4 of the total vote. The government delayed announcing the results, then claimed a highly dubious overall 52% victory, and capture of 19 of the 27 municipal councils. The council of Malabo, the capital, went to the opposition however. In early January 1996 Obiang called presidential elections, to be held in six weeks. The campaign was marred by allegations of fraud, and most of the other candidates withdrew in the final week. Obiang claimed re-election with 98% of the vote. International observers agreed the election was neither free nor fair. In an attempt to mollify his critics, Obiang announced a new cabinet, giving minor portfolios to some people identified by the government as opposition figures.
Since President Obiang has been constrained only by a need to maintain a consensus among his advisers and political supporters in the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea, most of whom are drawn from the Nguema family in Mongomo, [3] part of the Esangu subclan of the Fang in the eastern part of Río Muni. Alleged coup attempts in 1981 and 1983 raised little sympathy among the populace.
Under Obiang, schools reopened and primary education expanded, public utilities and roads were restored, a favorable contrast with Macías' tyranny and terror, but his administration has been criticized for not implementing genuine democratic reforms. Corruption and a dysfunctional judicial system disrupt development of Equatorial Guinea's economy and society. In March 2001 the President appointed a new Prime Minister, Cándido Muatetema Rivas, and replaced several ministers perceived to be especially corrupt. However, the government budget still does not include all revenues and expenditures. The United Nations Development Programme has proposed a broad governance reform program, but the Equatorial Guinean Government has not moved very rapidly to implement it.
Although Equatorial Guinea lacks a well-established democratic tradition comparable to the developed democracies of the West, it has progressed toward developing a participatory political system out of the anarchic, chaotic, and repressive conditions of the Macías years.[ citation needed ] In power since 1979, the Obiang government has made little progress in stimulating the economy. Extremely serious health and sanitary conditions persist, and the educational system remains in desperate condition. Although the abuses and atrocities that characterized the Macías years have been eliminated, effective rule of law does not exist. Religious freedom is tolerated.
On December 15, 2002, [4] Equatorial Guinea's four main opposition parties withdrew from the country's presidential election. Obiang won an election widely considered fraudulent by members of the western press.
According to a March 2004 BBC profile, [5] politics within the country are currently dominated by tensions between Obiang's son Teodoro (known by the nickname Teodorín, meaning Little Teodoro), and other close relatives with powerful positions in the security forces. The tension may be rooted in a power shift arising from the dramatic increase since 1997 in oil production.
A November 2004 report [6] named Mark Thatcher as a financial backer of a March 2004 attempt to topple Obiang organized by Simon Mann. Various accounts also name the UK's MI6, the US Central Intelligence Agency, and Spain as having been tacit supporters of the coup attempt. [7] Nevertheless, an Amnesty International report on the ensuing trial highlights the government's failure to demonstrate in court that the alleged coup attempt had ever actually taken place. [8]
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo | Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea | 3 August 1979 |
| Prime Minister | Manuel Osa Nsue Nsua | Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea | 16 August 2024 |
The 1982 constitution of Equatorial Guinea gives the President extensive powers, including naming and dismissing members of the cabinet, making laws by decree, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives, negotiating and ratifying treaties and calling legislative elections. The President retains his role as commander in chief of the armed forces and minister of defense, and he maintains close supervision of military activity. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and operates under powers designated by the President. The Prime Minister coordinates government activities in areas other than foreign affairs, national defense and security.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo seized power in a military coup. He is elected by popular vote to a seven-year term.
Another branch of the government is the State Council. The State Council's main function is to serve as caretaker in case of death or physical incapacity of the President. It comprises the following ex-officio members: the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the President of the National Assembly and the Chairman of the Social and Economic Council.
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The Chamber of People's Representatives (Cámara de Representantes del Pueblo) has 100 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Equatorial Guinea is a dominant-party state. This means that only one political party, the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea, is in fact allowed to hold effective power. Although minor parties are allowed, they are required to accept the de facto leadership of the ruling party. The Convergence for Social Democracy is the only true opposition party to operate legally in the county, which holds only a single seat in each house of parliament.
The government announced on 28 April 2016 that Obiang had won the election by an overwhelming margin, as expected. Provisional results showed him with 93.7% of the vote on a turnout of 92.9%. [9] He was sworn in for another term at a ceremony in Malabo on 20 May 2016. [10]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo | Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea | 271,177 | 93.53 | |
| Avelino Mocache | Centre-Right Union | 4,556 | 1.57 | |
| Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu | Party of the Social Democratic Coalition | 4,417 | 1.52 | |
| Benedicto Obian Mangue | Independent | 2,802 | 0.97 | |
| Carmelo Mba Bakalé | Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea | 2,415 | 0.83 | |
| Agustín Masoko Abegue | Independent | 2,412 | 0.83 | |
| Tomás Mba Monabang | Independent | 2,154 | 0.74 | |
| Total | 289,933 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 289,933 | 96.07 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 11,864 | 3.93 | ||
| Total votes | 301,797 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 325,548 | 92.70 | ||
| Source: Government of Equatorial Guinea | ||||
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea | 99 | 0 | |||
| Citizens for Innovation | 1 | New | |||
| Together We Can | 0 | –1 | |||
| Total | 100 | 0 | |||
| Valid votes | 272,022 | 99.46 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,480 | 0.54 | |||
| Total votes | 273,502 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 325,555 | 84.01 | |||
| Source: GEP, GEP | |||||
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea | 55 | +1 | |||
| Citizens for Innovation | 0 | New | |||
| Together We Can | 0 | –1 | |||
| Appointed members | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 70 | 0 | |||
| Valid votes | 272,022 | 99.46 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,480 | 0.54 | |||
| Total votes | 273,502 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 325,555 | 84.01 | |||
| Source: GEP,GEP | |||||
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The judicial system follows similar administrative levels. At the top are the President and his judicial advisors (the Supreme Court). In descending rank are the appeals courts, chief judges for the divisions, and local magistrates. Tribal laws and customs are honored in the formal court system when not in conflict with national law. The court system, which often uses customary law, is a combination of traditional, civil, and military justice, and it operates in an ad hoc manner for lack of established procedures and experienced judicial personnel.
As for the legal profession, the Equatorial Guinea Bar Association (Colegio de Abogados de Guinea Ecuatorial) was dissolved by the government in 2002. Although a new bar association was created in 2003, a report issued the same year claimed that " there are few independent lawyers and judges" unless they are "a member of [or sympathetic to] the ruling party." [11] It was reported in 2014 (and later reconfirmed in 2016) that the association does not have an official headquarters. [12]
Equatorial Guinea is divided in seven provinces (provincias); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas.
The President appoints the governors of the seven provinces. Each province is divided administratively into districts and municipalities. The internal administrative system falls under the Ministry of Territorial Administration; several other ministries are represented at the provincial and district levels.
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, with an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location near both the Equator and in the African region of Guinea. As of 2024, the country had a population of 1,795,834, over 85% of whom are members of the Fang people, the country's dominant ethnic group. The Bubi people, indigenous to Bioko, are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.
The History of Equatorial Guinea is marked by centuries of colonial domination by the Portuguese, British and Spanish colonial empires, and by the local kingdoms.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is an Equatoguinean politician, dictator, and former military officer who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since 1982. Previously, he was the Chairman of the Supreme Military Council from 1979 to 1982. As of 2024, he is the second-longest consecutively serving current non-royal national leader in the world, behind Cameroon's Paul Biya.
Francisco Macías Nguema, often referred to as Macías Nguema or simply Macías, was an Equatoguinean politician who served as the first president of Equatorial Guinea from the country's independence in 1968, until his overthrow in 1979. He is widely remembered as one of the most brutal dictators in history. As president, he exhibited bizarre and erratic behavior; many of his contemporaries believed he was insane.
The Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea is the ruling political party in Equatorial Guinea. It was established by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on 11 October 1987.
The Bubi people are a Bantu ethnic group of Central Africa who are indigenous to Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Once the majority group in the region, the population experienced a sharp decline due to war and disease during Portuguese expeditions. By the end of Spanish colonial rule in the mid 20th century, and after substantial intermarriage with newly introduced populations, such as Afro-Cubans, Krio people, Portuguese people and Spaniards, the Bubi people, again, experienced a great decline in number. Seventy-five percent perished due to tribal/clan rooted political genocide during a civil war that led to Spanish Guinea's independence from Spain. This, too, sparked mass exodus from their homeland with most of the exiles and refugees immigrating into Spain. The indigenous Bubi of Bioko Island have since co-existed with non-indigenous Krio Fernandinos; and members of the Fang ethnic group, who have immigrated in large numbers from Río Muni. Once numbering approximately 3 million, the Bubi currently number around 100,000 worldwide.
The Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island is a proscribed political organization in Equatorial Guinea. It has its roots in the pre-independence Unión Bubi, which sought independence from the mainland half of Spanish Guinea. It is supported by the Bubi ethnic group, which dominates Bioko island.
Bonifacio Ondó Edú-Aguong was an Equatoguinean politician who served as the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea from 1964 to 1968 while it was still under Spanish colonial rule, as Spanish Guinea. He played a leading role in the country's independence, and led the National Union Movement of Equatorial Guinea from 1959 until his death.
Severo Matías Moto Nsá, known as Severo Moto, is the most notable opposition politician in Equatorial Guinea, and leader of the Progress Party of Equatorial Guinea. He lives in Spain where he has established a government in exile, to the irritation of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
Cristino Seriche Bioko was an Equatoguinean soldier and politician who was the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea from 15 August 1982 to 4 March 1992. He previously served as Vice President under Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo for almost one year, from December 1981 to until the position was abolished in October 1982 according to the constitutional referendum, at which point he became president.
Equatorial Guinea–Spain relations are the diplomatic relations between Equatorial Guinea and Spain. Both nations are members of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, Organization of Ibero-American States and the United Nations.
Ángel Masié Ntutumu was an Equatorial Guinean politician.
Salvador Elá Nseng Abegue was an Equatorial Guinean military leader, politician, and diplomat.
The United National Workers' Party was a political party in Equatorial Guinea. It was the only political party in the country from 1970 to 1979, during the dictatorship of Francisco Macías Nguema.
The Supreme Military Council — initially called the Military Revolutionary Council — was the ruling military junta and the de facto government of Equatorial Guinea between the 1979 coup d'état and the 1982 constitutional referendum.
The 1973 Constitution of Equatorial Guinea was the country's second constitution. It was submitted, without the participation of international observers, to a popular referendum on July 29, 1973, obtaining 99% of votes in favor. and subsequently published in the Official Gazette in August of the same year, under the government of Francisco Macías.
The following lists events that happened during 1979 in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
General elections were held in Equatorial Guinea on 20 November 2022 to elect the President and members of Parliament, alongside local elections. Originally the parliamentary elections had been scheduled for November 2022 and presidential elections for 2023. However, in September 2022 Parliament approved a proposal to merge the elections due to economic constraints. The government announced on 26 November 2022 that Obiang had won the election by an overwhelming margin, as expected. It stated that provisional results showed him with 97% of the vote on a turnout of 98%. The elections were considered a sham by international observers.
The National Movement for the Liberation of Equatorial Guinea is a political party in Equatorial Guinea founded by Acacio Mañé Ela. It was one of the first pro-independence political movements in Spanish Guinea, during the 1950s.