A press release from the European External Action Service on Sunday 26 November states that the EU "supports the African Union’s call to preserve equal conditions and fair competition between political parties in order to make progress towards democratic consolidation" in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
The EU refers to the preliminary statement of the African Union's election observation mission published on 15 November, a few days after the country's constitutional court approved the results of the parliamentary, senatorial and local elections on 12 November, which gave a landslide victory to the president's Equatorial Guinea Democratic Party (PDGE) and his coalition.
"The results proclaimed on 20 November imply a further restriction of the already narrow political space granted to legal opposition parties, which is in contradiction to the intentions agreed at the National Dialogue Table held in 2014", the EEAS spokesperson stated.
The EU "expects Equatorial Guinean authorities to make all necessary efforts to ensure compliance with democracy and human rights, international norms and standards. This is particularly relevant at a time when the country is preparing to take up a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council", the EEAS press release says. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)