Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union

The European Union notes with concern that the Parliamentary Elections held in Equatorial Guinea on 7 March 1999 have been carried out in a way to endanger the process of democratization which was started in 1991 and continued in April 1997 by the Agreement between the Government and the political parties. Serious flaws already had to be stated during the weeks before the election date such as inequal access to media, restrictions to freedom of movement and public meeting to opposition parties members, lack of independence of the National Election Committee, etc, among others.

The actual elections were conducted in a peaceful and calm atmosphere. The observers of the francophone countries and the OAU stated numerous cases of disrespect for the rules of the electoral law in continental Equatorial Guinea. On this basis the opposition has demanded the annulment of the election; their demand has so far not been accepted by the court of appellation of Malabo.

The European Union appeals to the Government of Equatorial Guinea to carefully examine these incidents and, if found necessary, take appropriate measures to rectify them. The European Union will continue to observe the development in Equatorial Guinea very closely and hopes to see the country back on its way to democratization in the near future.

The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, the associated country Cyprus and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration.