General elections were held in

Spanish Guinea Spanish Guinea (Spanish: ''Guinea Española'') was a set of insular and continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 as Equatorial G ...

on 22 September 1968 to elect a

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

that would lead the country when it gained independence as

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

later that year. A second round of the presidential election was held on 29 September.

Francisco Macías Nguema Francisco Macías Nguema ( Africanised to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong; 1 January 1924 – 29 September 1979), often mononymously referred to as Macías, was an Equatoguinean politician who served as the first President of Equatorial Guinea f ...

of the

Popular Idea of Equatorial Guinea The Popular Idea of Equatorial Guinea ( es, Idea Popular de Guinea Ecuatorial, IPGE) was a nationalist political group created at the end of the 1950s with the goal of establishing independence in Equatorial Guinea. The IPGE is considered to be ...

led the field in the first round, advancing to a runoff with

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Bonifacio Ondó Edu. With the endorsement of eliminated candidates Atanasio Ndongo and Edmundo Bossio, Macías Nguema defeated Edu in the runoff. Edu's

National Unity Movement of Equatorial Guinea National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and Ndongo's

National Liberation Movement of Equatorial Guinea National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

won ten seats each in the National Assembly, while the Popular Idea won eight. Voter turnout was 67 percent in the first round and 79 percent in the second round. After Macias Nguema's victory, he appointed Ndongo as Equatorial Guinea's first Foreign Minister and Bossio as Vice-President, while he ordered Edu's execution shortly after independence. To date, it has been the only free election ever held in Equatorial Guinea. Over the next four years, Macias Nguema consolidated his power step by step; in 1970 he set up the

United National Workers' Party The United National Workers' Party ( es, Partido Único Nacional de los Trabajadores, lit=Sole National Workers' Party, PUNT) was a political party in Equatorial Guinea. It was the only political party in the country from 1970 to 1979, during ...

as the only legally permitted party in the country and by 1972 he had declared himself President for Life with dictatorial powers. As a result, the 1968 elections would be the last contested elections held in the country until

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Results

President

National Assembly

Elected members

Alfredo King Tomas Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Fi ...

* Ángel Etugu Oguono * Antonio Eworo Obama * Antonio Ndongo *

Armando Balboa Armando may refer to: * Armando (given name) * Armando (artist) (1929–2018), the name used by Dutch artist Herman Dirk van Dodeweerd * Armando (producer) Armando Gallop (sometimes written as Armando Gallup) (February 12, 1970 – December 17, ...

Clemente Ateba Nso Clemente is both an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese surname and a given name. Notable people with the surname include: Surname * Aldo Di Clemente (born 1948), Italian amateur astronomer * Anna Clemente (born 1994), Italian racewalker * Ari Cleme ...

Cristina Makoli Cristina Makoli Biere was an Equatoguinean politician. In 1968 she was one of the first two women elected to the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legisla ...

Cristóbal Ondó Alogo Cristóbal or Cristobal, the Spanish version of Christopher, is a masculine given name and a surname which may refer to: Given name *Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972), Spanish fashion designer * Cristóbal Cobo (born 1976), Chilean academic * ...

* Domicilio Sila *

Enrique Ncuna Ndongo Enrique () is the Spanish variant of the given name Heinrich of Germanic origin. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Enric (Catalan), Enrico (Italian), Henrik (Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian), Heinrich (German), Hendrik, Henk (Du ...

Federico Makendengue Eouabo Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Artists * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ. * Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, ...

Gaspar Copariate Burkbake Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the wise men mentioned in the Bible. Notable p ...

Gustavo Watson Buebake Gustavo is the Latinate form of a Germanic male given name with respective prevalence in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. It has been a common name for Swedish monarchs since the reign of Gustav Vasa. It is derived from Gustav /ˈɡʊstɑːv/, a ...

Juan Bestue ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

* Juan Nguema * Julio Ngundi Nadjaba * Lorenza Matute * Manuel Gerona Hombria * Manuel Nguema Obono * Marcelino Ngale Econo * Marcelo Epám Uri * Mariano Ganet Bokuo * Mariano Mba Michá * Martín Esono Ndongo * Maximiliano Michá * Primo José Escono Micá * Raimundo Ela Nvé * Ramon Itanguino Elambani * Ricardo Bolopá Esape * Roberto Jora * Salvador Boleko Ripole * Saturnino Ibongo Ivanga * Sebastián Oburu Masie * Pastor Torao Sikara * Salvador Nsamio Nsema''Africa; revista de acción española'', Volume 25, p24

References

{{Equatorial Guinean elections

1968 in Equatorial Guinea Elections in Equatorial Guinea Presidential elections in Equatorial Guinea Election and referendum articles with incomplete results September 1968 events in Africa