The world’s longest-serving president wants to stay in office even longer

The world’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, is aiming for another term as president today. Obiang has been leading the Central African country for 43 years and should be re-elected today.

On paper it is a normal ballot box, with opposition parties and opposition candidates. But 14 opposition parties have allied with Obiang’s authoritarian regime. Only two candidates dare to oppose it.

The 80-year-old Obiang’s authoritarian regime has been accused of intimidation, assault and corruption. Obiang’s head can be seen everywhere on the streets of the capital Malabo, while opposition posters are few in the city.

At an election meeting last week, the president called on his supporters to vote for him, because otherwise there would be a lot of uncertainty. “Some say there has to be a change. But we don’t know if they want that change for people, or if they want a catastrophic situation that could lead to a runaway situation.”

Equatorial Guinea is a country with about 1.4 million inhabitants. It is rich in oil and gas reserves, but the population hardly benefits from the proceeds. The gap between rich and poor is huge. Many people live in extreme poverty, while the family gets richer.

Obiang’s vice president and son Teodorin was convicted in France of money laundering and embezzlement. Properties in France worth tens of millions of euros have been seized by the French. In 2019, dozens of very expensive cars that belonged to Teodorin were sold in Switzerland auctioned off.

The current president came to power in 1979 when he staged a coup. More than ten years had passed since independence from Spain. The first few years there was the junta, then the elections took place.

But the result shows similarities to those of countries like North Korea: In 1989, Obiang received 99 percent of the vote. In 2016 he received the “least” vote: 93.7%.

Critics say Obiang has built an unprecedentedly corrupt system that denies ordinary people a chance to escape poverty. Freedom of speech does not exist in the country and all television and radio channels are controlled by the regime or have links to it.

Human rights groups accuse the regime of intimidation on an unprecedented scale. It even goes so far that opponents of the regime are traced abroad, forcibly returned to the country and then sentenced to death.

In September, security forces raided an opposition party office, the only one with a seat in parliament, and arrested at least 100 members. The president and his son believe they are doing nothing wrong.