Convergence for Social Democracy ( es, link=no, Convergencia para la Democracia Social, CPDS) is the opposition party in
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
. It was the only opposition party with parliamentary representation during 2013-2017.
Structure
The CPDS is headed by a president and a secretary-general, who are currently Santiago Obama Ndong and Andres Esono Ondo, respectively. The Secretary-General is defined as the leader of the party, while the President is assigned the role of a moderator.Page at CPDS website .
History
After operating clandestinely and publishing its newspaper ''La Verdad'' ("The Truth") in the early 1990s, the CPDS applied for legal recognition in November 1992 and was given legal recognition in February 1993. The party was led and founded by Secundino Oyono Edú-Aguong. The CPDS attributed this recognition to international pressure.
In December 1994, the CPDS held its Constitutive Congress in Bata. The Congress chose Plácido Micó Abogo as Secretary-General at the head of an Executive Commission. The party held its Second National Congress in Bata in February 2001; Plácido Micó Abogo was again chosen as secretary-general. The Third National Congress, held in Bata in February 2005, again chose Plácido Micó Abogo as Secretary-General and elected a National Executive Commission.
Plácido Micó Abogo was the only CPDS candidate to win a seat in the 1999 legislative election. The party's candidate in the December 2002 presidential election was
Celestino Bonifacio Bacalé
Celestino Bonifacio Bacale Obiang (24 September 1957 – 2 March 2021) was an Equatoguinean politician. He was the Secretary of International Relations and Cooperation of the Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS)."'Landslide' in Equatorial Guinea" BBC News, 16 December 2002. but remained on the ballot and won 2.2% of the vote; President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of the
Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
The Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea ( es, Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial, abbreviated PDGE) is the ruling political party in Equatorial Guinea. It was established by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on 11 October 1987.
...
Chamber of People's Representatives
The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de los Diputados; french: Chambre des députés; pt, Câmara dos Deputados) is the lower house of the Parliament of Equatorial Guinea.
Although vested with considerable powers under the country's const ...
, with CPDS candidates Plácido Micó Abogo and Bacalé winning seats from
Malabo
Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a p ...
. In the May 2008 parliamentary election, it won one out of 100 seats;"'Equatorial Guinea worse than Zim'" AFP (''IOL''), 11 July 2008. this seat was won by Plácido Micó Abogo.
Although the Convergence is a legally recognized party, its members are regularly detained and/or tortured by police. The CPDS acquired a radio station in August 2008 and began broadcasting from it in September. The police raided the CPDS headquarters on 13 September 2008, searching for the party's radio transmitter, although the police reportedly failed to find the transmitter and only seized electoral campaign material.
The CPDS is a full member of the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...