Report On Human Rights Practices For 2011 Country Of Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is nominally a multiparty constitutional republic. Since a military coup in 1979, President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo dominated all branches of government in collaboration with his clan and his political party, the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE). In 2009 voters reelected President Obiang with a claimed 95.37 percent of votes cast. The lopsided results and weak independent monitoring of the electoral process raised suspicions of systematic vote fraud. Foreign diplomatic observers noted numerous irregularities and the presence of military personnel at all voting stations. There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control. Major human rights abuses reported during the year included a disregard for the rule of law and due process, denial of basic political rights including freedom of speech and press, and widespread official corruption.