80-year old Equatorial Guinea President Obiang wins re-election for a sixth term

President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been re-elected president of the West African country for a sixth term, extending his 43-year rule and making the 80-year-old president the world's longest-standing ruler.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

In the result announced by election officials on Saturday, Obiang got 94.9% of the votes cast, while the two opposing candidates, Andrès Esono Ondo and Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu received around 9,700 and 2,900 each of the approximately 413,000 votes cast.

Obiang's son, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue said on Twitter on Saturday that his party won all the seats in the Senate and Parliament in the Nov.20 election.

"The definitive results prove us right again,". "We continue to prove to be a great political party!" Mangue tweeted.

Obiang's ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) and coalition won all 55 seats in the Senate and the 100 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, which is the lower house. Mangue said the president can now appoint the remaining 15 senate seats, according to Reuters.

The West African country with a population of about 1.5 million people achieved independence from Spain in 1968.

Since then, the country has had only two presidents: Obiang's uncle, Francisco Macias, whom he ousted in a military coup in 1979.

Critics say Obiang has not done much to pull the country out of poverty despite great personal wealth and has accused Obiang of rigging elections.  International observers have also questioned the credibility of the elections which Obiang has always won with more than 90% votes.

Rights groups accuse Obiang of stifling dissent and cracking down on rivals. They say protests are mostly forbidden, media is heavily controlled, and political opponents are often arrested and tortured.

Observers see his son, Mangue, as a potential successor.  A French Court convicted Mangue of embezzlement in 2020.

According to foreign powers, the assets he bought with ill-gotten gains include a crystal-covered glove worn by Michael Jackson, an armored Rolls-Royce limousine and a yacht.

The father and the son have both denied any wrongdoing.

Politics and Opinion