World’s longest-serving president names son as vice president
World’s longest-serving president Obiang of Equatorial Guinea names son as vice president
World’s longest-serving president Obiang of Equatorial Guinea names son as vice president.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been confirmed for a sixth term as president, has ruled oil-rich Equatorial Guinea since August 1979. He has presided over a government known for repressing the opposition and being wary of coups.
With the exception of monarchs, the 80-year-43 old’s years in office are the longest of any leader currently in office.
Francisco Macias Nguema, who had taken office as Equatorial Guinea’s first president following its independence from Spain in 1968 and later proclaimed himself ruler for life.
Two months after the coup, Macias, Obiang’s uncle, was beheaded by the firing squad.
Opponents of Obiang claim that during his hermetic, iron-fisted rule, the nation transformed into the “North Korea of Africa.”
Rights watchdogs frequently criticize the regime’s cruelty, which has been documented by mass, arbitrary arrests, the detention of dissidents in dreadful jail conditions, and periodic sweeps against alleged plotters.
Obiang has nearly absolute political authority in a nation with just one recognized opposition group.
He won re-election in 2016 with 93.7% of the vote; this time, the official outcome gave him 94.9 % on a 98 % turnout.
Son in the wings
Obiang’s son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, is widely seen as his successor and has ascended the ranks to the position of the vice president today.
In an interview ahead of the 2016 vote, the elder Obiang told the French-language Jeune Afrique magazine that this would be the last time he would run.
“I have been in power for too long, but the people want me to be their president,” he said.
Asked whether Teodorin was being groomed for power, he said: “Equatorial Guinea isn’t a monarchy… but if he’s got talent, there’s nothing I can do.”
Speculation that he would hand over the reins in the upcoming vote gained pace as his public appearances became rarer.
However, such hopes were dashed when Teodorin became embroiled in controversies abroad and was found guilty in France of having unlawfully acquired public property.
He has been ordered by France, Britain, and the US to surrender houses and expensive automobiles worth millions of dollars. France also gave him a three-year suspended sentence and a fine of 30 million euros.
The storm, which coincided with a drop in oil prices and Covid’s economic hit, may have led the inner circle of the older Obiang to counsel against a change in the country’s leadership.
The PDGE unanimously chose Obiang as its candidate “because of his charisma, his leadership, and his political experience”, Teodorin wrote on Twitter. The party’s election slogan, seen universally on posters and state TV, was “continuity”.
Fear of coups
Obiang graduated from military school while the country, Spanish Guinea, was still under the rule of Spain’s fascist dictator, General Francisco Franco.
He then held a string of key jobs, including head of the notorious Black Beach prison — a place of “living hell”, in the words of Amnesty International.
His violent path to power has bequeathed a deep fear of coups.
His bodyguard comprises soldiers who are members of his clan, but — for additional security — he has a close-protection unit who are reputedly Israelis. Zimbabweans and Ugandans have also been brought in to help guard the presidential palace.
Obiang says he has foiled at least 10 attempted coups and assassinations during his long spell in power, often blaming dissidents living in exile or “foreign powers”.
The authorities closed the borders ahead of the elections to thwart suspected plotters.
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