Equatorial Guinea: The world’s longest-serving president wins re-election

Sunday, 27 November 2022 - 9:55

Equatorial+Guinea%3A+The+world%E2%80%99s+longest-serving+president+wins+re-election
The world’s longest-serving president has won re-election in Equatorial Guinea to continue presiding over his authoritarian regime.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 80, secured almost 95% of votes, officials announced six days after the vote.

“The results prove us right again,” Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the president’s son, said. “We continue to be a great party.”

Some opposition candidates stood, but none were expected to win.

President Obiang has a strong grip on the oil-rich central African nation, with family members in key government roles.

He seized power in 1979 after a military takeover and has survived several coup attempts.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 80, has presided over a regime marked by alleged human rights abuses including torture and disappearances.

The president has a strong grip on the oil-rich nation, with family members in key government roles.

The West African country of around 1.5 million people has had only two presidents since independence from Spain in 1968. Obiang ousted his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema in a coup in 1979.

Obiang has always been elected with more than 90% of the vote in polls that international observers have questioned. Critics say Obiang has rigged elections and done little to drag the country out of poverty despite great personal wealth.

Rights groups accuse him of muzzling dissent and cracking down on rivals. Protests are mostly forbidden, media is heavily controlled, and political opponents are often arrested and tortured, they say.


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