Tang renamed as Equatorial Guinea PM

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Equatorial Guinea’s government resigned yesterday but Prime Minister Ignacio Milam Tang was reappointed later in the day to head the next cabinet, state media reported.

The government’s resignation was a legal requirement after President Teodoro Obiang Nguema won seven more years in charge of the African oil producer, retaining his grip on power with a 96.7% win in the November election.

Tang is expected to name his government in the coming days but Obiang, who has ruled the former Spanish colony for more than 30 years and whose PDG ruling party controls 99 of the 100 seats in parliament, is very much in charge of the Central African state.

The November poll was criticised for failing to meet democratic standards but Obiang faces no internal opposition and analysts expect continuity.

Equatorial Guinea has attracted European investors to develop its gas projects as oil production has slipped from peaks of over 350 000 barrels per day in the 1990s.