Equatorial Guinea president eyes new term in poll
Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema arrives for the innauguration of President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria May 9, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Mike Hutchings
MALABO (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema is set to secure a new seven-year mandate to rule the oil-producing central African nation on Sunday in a poll widely dismissed by critics as lacking credibility.
Obiang, 67, has been in power since a 1979 palace coup and analysts believe the official results from the vote could even better his resounding 97.1 percent poll score in 2002, when rivals pulled out complaining of harassment.
Of the four rivals standing this time, none are expected to pose a threat to the president and his ruling PDGE, which holds all but one seat in a 100-seat parliament.
"There is no credible opposition to speak of," said IHS Global Insight analyst Kissy Agyeman-Togobo. "Obiang is assured victory, perhaps even increasing upon his 2002 win."
The capital Malabo was calm in the days ahead of the vote, residents there said. Traffic was restricted by ministerial order and police and soldiers guarded main roads and shops.
Voting starts at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), with initial projections due after voting ends around 6 p.m. (1700 GMT).
While there are growing concerns over human rights in the country of some 650,000, Obiang's drive to turn Equatorial Guinea into a major energy player has met with some success.
Long a magnet for U.S. oil companies, the country has secured deals with Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas, Spain's Union Fenosa and Portugal's Galp Energia as part of its plans to become a regional gas hub too.
