Equatorial Guinea: President Obiang extends his 43-year-rule by winning sixth term in office

Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasaogo has won the re-election bid in the central African country making his sixth term in office the world’s longest-serving president over the past four decades.

The announcement was made by a son and Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue on Saturday, six days after the vote.

The vice president said that the 80-year-old won the re-election with 95 per cent of the votes which amounts to over 405,910 votes. According to AFP, Electoral Commission head Faustino Ndong Esono Eyang also confirmed that Obiang will serve another seven years as the president, adding that the voter turnout rate for the election was 98 per cent.

The victory comes amid the incumbent president’s stronghold on the oil-rich central African country of 1.5 million of population. As per the nation’s vice president, their ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) and coalition secured 55 seats in the Senate and 100 seats in the lower house, also known as the Chamber of Deputies.

The vice president tweeted, “The definitive results prove us right again. We continue to prove to be great political party!” He added that the president can appoint the remaining 15 Senate seats.

President Obiang seized power in 1979 after a military takeover and has successfully managed to avoid several coup attempts since. The incumbent president has been repeatedly re-elected with majority of 90 per cent votes in the country which has only one other legitimate opposition party.

Several media reports suggest that the media is heavily controlled, protests are forbidden and political opponents are often arrested and tortured in the country. Notably, the PDGE-led government, earlier this year, also abolished the death penalty- a move praised by the United Nations.

If reports are to be believed, President Obiang, who has earlier denied accusations of abusing human rights and election rigging, intends to use his new term to clean up his international reputation.

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