| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Cámara de los Representantes del Pueblo / House of Peoples' Representatives |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
4 May 2008 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives of the People following premature dissolution of this body on 29 February 2008. Elections to the House of Representatives of the People had previously taken place on 25 April 2004. |
On 29 February 2008
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema dissolved the House of Representatives of the People and called early elections for 4 May
11 months earlier than the constitutional due date. The government argued that holding legislative elections in parallel with municipal polls would save money.
In the previous elections held in April 2004
President Obiang's Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) took 68 seats in the enlarged 100-member parliament. Its ally
the pro-government "Electoral Coalition" (also known as the "Democratic Opposition") took 30. The opposition Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS) of Mr. Plácido Micó Abogon won the two remaining seats.
President Obiang seized power in a coup d'état in 1979
ousting his uncle
Francisco Macias Nguema. The country introduced a multi party system in 1991 and the PDGE has remained the dominant party. Having become sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil producer
Equatorial Guinea has enjoyed rapid economic development in recent years
with a double-digit growth rate. Despite GDP of 7
874 US dollars per capita
many people still live in poverty however.
In the 2008 elections
the PDGE and the Democratic Opposition (comprising nine parties) formed an electoral alliance that pledged to work towards stability and further economic development. Their campaign focused on the government's achievements in the development of national infrastructure. President Obiang also promised to give citizens an opportunity to express their opinion on the government's performance.
The CPDS was the main opposition force in the 2008 elections. It urged voters not to be afraid to vote for the opposition. The CPDS tried to appeal to young voters
arguing that they needed to take back the country from a small "oil-rich elite".
The opposition Progress Party was barred from participating in the 2008 elections. Its leader
Mr. Severo Moto - who had been in exile in Spain since the 1980s - had been sentenced in absentia to 62 years in prison for his alleged involvement in a 2004 coup attempt. In April 2008
Mr. Moto was arrested in Spain on charges of trafficking arms to Equatorial Guinea.
Another opposition party
the Popular Union (UP)
was weakened by an internal split prior to the 2008 elections.
Turnout was reportedly low among the 278
000 eligible voters.
No major incident was reported on polling day. However
CPDS Secretary General Micó insisted that the elections had been rigged
referring to the disappearance and shortage of ballot papers in some polling stations as well as acts of intimidation against CPDS representatives.
The final results gave 89 seats to the PDGE and ten to the Democratic Opposition
or 99 seats in all. The PDGE won 100 per cent of the votes in several polling stations. The CPDS took the one remaining seat.
On 18 June
the newly elected House of Representatives of the People held a special session to elect a new bureau. Mr. Angel Serafin-Seriche Dougan Malabo was elected as the new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 4 May 2008 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
278'000
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) |
89
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Opposition (Electoral Coalition) |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
94
6
6.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
| Source: House of Representatives of the People (23.06.2008
14.11.2008) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
