The United National Workers' Party ( es, Partido Único Nacional de los Trabajadores, lit=Sole National Workers' Party, PUNT) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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 ...

. It was the only political party in the country from 1970 to 1979, during the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

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 ...

History

The PUNT was created and led by

, former leader 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 ...

(IPGE) and, since the independence from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, President of

(confirmed by the 1968 general election). The party was officially founded on 7 July 1970 on the structure of the United National Party ( es, Partido Único Nacional, PUN), existing from January to February of that same year. The PUN was formed in January 1970, after Macías issued a decree suppressing all existing political parties in the country. Previously, in December 1968, Macías had already announced that there would soon be a single party to "unify ideas". Macías assumed the post of president for life of the PUNT, whose highest body was the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

. The Central Committee consisted of Macías as president, his ministers, civil governors of the provinces, government delegates and high-ranking officers of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. The other structures of the PUNT consisted of base, district and provincial committees. In 1977, the Central Committee was disbanded and Macías assumed absolute power in the PUNT. The Permanent

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the PUNT was

Buenaventura Ochaga Ngomo 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 ...

(simultaneously the Minister of Popular Education, Art and Traditional Culture), until his fall from grace and execution in 1976. The PUNT's role as the only legal party was enshrined in the 1973 Constitution. The statutes of the PUNT were elaborated, according to what is said, by an advisor of Macías Antonio García-Trevijano.Guinea Ecuatorial: de colonia a sultanato
Paula García Ascanio, 2010 According to the (ANRD), it was García-Trevijano who suggested Macías to add "the Workers" to the name of the party in 1971. Other authors posit that Macías was inspired to make this change by

Marien Ngouabi Marien Ngouabi (or N'Gouabi) (December 31, 1938 – March 18, 1977) was the third President of the Republic of the Congo from January 1, 1969, to March 18, 1977. Biography Origins Marien Ngouabi was born in 1938 at the village of Ombellé, Cu ...

, then-

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 ...

of the

People's Republic of the Congo The People's Republic of the Congo (french: République populaire du Congo) was a Marxist–Leninist socialist state that existed in the Republic of the Congo from 1969 to 1992. The People's Republic of the Congo was founded in December 1969 ...

, or was potentially inspired by the name of the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

. In the 1973 parliamentary election, the PUNT won all of the seats in the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, and Macías was reelected unopposed in the presidential election. The youth wing of the party, called "Youth in March with Macías" (formerly known as "Popular Revolutionary Militia") played an important role, both propagandist and repressive one. The party also had a women's wing, called "Feminine Section", based on the

Sección Femenina The Sección Femenina ("Female Section"; SF) was the women's branch of the Falange political movement in Spain. Founded in July 1934 as part of the Sindicato Español Universitario (SEU) of the Falange Española de las JONS (FE de las JONS), an ...

of the

FET y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

. Set up by Marina Alene Mbá, the women's wing had the function of organizing events and activities, and the women who belonged it had to be

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

s for the authorities about the political activity of their families. The President of

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Ahmed Sékou Touré Ahmed Sékou Touré (var. Sheku Turay or Ture; N'Ko: ; January 9, 1922 – March 26, 1984) was a Guinean political leader and African statesman who became the first president of Guinea, serving from 1958 until his death in 1984. Touré was am ...

sent two advisers to the country to help organize this body. From the very moment of its creation, the PUNT acquired great social significance. The party membership card was required for everything: academic fees, work contracts, etc. It was also mandatory to wear the official PUNT uniform, with an effigy of President Macías placed at the height of the heart, to show fidelity and love to the dictator. The party membership card was as important as the personal

identity document An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any documentation, document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID c ...

, and could be requested by the authorities at any time and place. In addition, the party had the power to make decisions in legal matters, such as judging, condemning and absolving. According to Article 4 of the Statute of the PUNT, all citizens of Equatorial Guinea became members of the PUNT from the age of seven. The party was banned by the Supreme Military Council following the 1979 coup d'état, led by

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician and former military officer who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since August 1979. He is the longest-serving president of any country eve ...

, nephew of Macías.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Chamber of Deputies elections

References

{{Authority control 1970 establishments in Equatorial Guinea 1979 disestablishments in Equatorial Guinea African socialist political parties Banned socialist parties African and Black nationalist parties in Africa Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa Parties of one-party systems Political parties disestablished in 1979 Political parties established in 1970 Political parties in Equatorial Guinea Socialism in Equatorial Guinea