The four opposition candidates withdrew their candidacy on election day. The first opposition candidate to withdraw was
Convergence for Social Democracy
Convergence for Social Democracy ( es, link=no, Convergencia para la Democracia Social, CPDS) is the opposition party in Equatorial Guinea. It was the only opposition party with parliamentary representation during 2013-2017.
Structure
The CPDS ...
(CPDS) candidate
Celestino Bonifacio Bacalé
Celestino Bonifacio Bacale Obiang (24 September 1957 – 2 March 2021) was an Equatoguinean politician. He was the Secretary of International Relations and Cooperation of the Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS)."'Landslide' in Equatorial Guinea" BBC News, 16 December 2002.Charles Cobb Jr. "Equatorial Guinea: Obiang Sure to Win As Opposition Quits Poll" allAfrica.com, December 16, 2002. He also said that some designated polling stations did not actually exist, while some polling stations that were not designated had suddenly appeared; he also alleged that secret ballot envelopes were being opened and checked by electoral officials. Furthermore, according to Bacalé, some individuals in charge of polling stations had been deprived of that responsibility due to their insistence on having a free and fair election, and he said that the CPDS would not recognize the results. Despite Bacalé's withdrawal, his name remained on the ballot.
Aside from Bacalé, the other three withdrawn candidates were Secundino Oyono of the
Social Democratic and Popular Convergence
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
(CSDP),
Jeremiah Ondo
Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning "Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...
Buenaventura Mosuy
Buenaventura (Spanish, 'good fortune', and the name of Saint Bonaventure) or Buena Ventura may refer to:
People
*Buenaventura Báez (1812-1884), president of the Dominican Republic for five terms
*Buenaventura Bagaria (1882–1947), a Spanish sp ...
Severo Moto Severo may refer to:
People
;Given name
* Severo Antonelli
* Severo Bonini
* Severo Calzetta da Ravenna
* Severo Colberg Ramírez
* Severo Fernández
* Severo Meza
* Severo Moto Nsá
* Severo Ochoa
* Severo Ornstein
* Severo Sarduy
;Surname
* ...
, an opposition leader in exile, said that there was no chance of a free and fair election.
Conduct
President Obiang's
Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
The Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea ( es, Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial, abbreviated PDGE) is the ruling political party in Equatorial Guinea. It was established by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on 11 October 1987.
...
(PDGE) said that voting occurred "in a normal and peaceful atmosphere", while Minister of the Interior
Clemente Engonga 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 ...
denounced the withdrawal of the opposition candidates as "unlawful ... irresponsible and anti-democratic" and said that it was "proof of
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
bad faith and diabolical spirit". The opposition candidates demanded a new election "in the best conditions of freedom, legality and transparency".
One electoral observer, Ahmed Rajab, told the BBC that he had not seen "any irregularities as such", although he emphasized that he did not know what had occurred prior to the election and said that there might have been "an element of fear" involved in the support for Obiang. He said that the government was embarrassed by the loss of credibility caused by the opposition withdrawal, which left Obiang as the winner of what was effectively a one-candidate election.
Results
Obiang received 97% of the votes, according to official results. Voter turnout was 98%. At least one voting district was recorded as giving Obiang 103% of the vote, a statistical impossibility without there having been electoral fraud.