The leader of Equatorial Guinea has extended he reign as President for another term after 43 years in office. He is the longest-serving president in the world.
Officials said that Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 80 years old, got almost 95% of the vote six days after the election.
Vice President and President’s son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue said, “The results prove us right again.” Still, we are having a lot of fun.
People from the other side ran for office, but no one thought they’d win.
Central Africa’s oil-rich country is firmly in the hands of President Obiang, whose family members work in important government positions.
In 1979, when the army took over, he was put in charge. Since then, many people have tried to get rid of him.
His uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, was President before he was. He changed some things when he took over, but Nguema was still in charge.
People can’t criticize the government as there is no free press. In addition, the government or its allies own all broadcast media.
People think President Obiang, who has said in the past that he didn’t break human rights laws or rig elections, wants to use his sixth term to improve his reputation worldwide.
In September, the government suspended the death penalty, something the United Nations praised.
Some people say that Equatorial Guinea’s elections have been rigged in the past.
Poverty as a political weapon
President Obiang has been in charge since 1979, when he assumed power via a military coup. Francisco Macias Nguema, his uncle, ran the country before him. When he took over, he made a few changes, but Nguema was still in charge.
In the end, Nguema died. While he was in charge, thousands of people died, and many people left Equatorial Guinea.
Professor Sá said President Obiang has stayed in power because he understands “the rules of the political game.” Sá said the country’s bad condition is another “political weapon” he uses.
She also said, “Obiang will never lose power because of the election laws.”
Some people say that the last elections in the country weren’t fair. Officials say President Obiang got more than 97% of the votes in the presidential election in December 2002. Candidates for the other parties quit, saying there had been fraud and other problems.
The same people were chosen in both 2009 and 2016.
People have also said that the government is corrupt because Teodorin Obiang, the President’s son, was fined in France for using public money to live in style. Since then, the French government has bought Mr. Obiang’s land.
The UK put the vice president on a “black list to stop corruption.”
Obiang says he hasn’t done anything wrong. Some people have also said that President Obiang is not honest. He has always denied this.
On Sunday, more than 300,000 groups of people signed up to vote.
Brief details about Equatorial Guinea
In 1968, Spanish Guinea became the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and it elected Francisco Macias Nguema as President.
Rights groups say that Francisco Macias Nguema and Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the country’s two presidents, are the worst people in Africa at breaking people’s rights.
The Spanish, French and Portuguese speaking country discovered oil in 1996. But most of the country’s 1.4 million people are still poor, so it hasn’t helped much.
