The President of Equatorial Guinea, who has led the country for 43 years, was re-elected with nearly 95% of the vote

At the age of 80, Teodoro Obiang has received more than 400,000 votes and is the longest serving person in the world

STRINGER / AFPTV / AFPTeodoro Obiang is the world’s longest-serving leader

With nearly 95% of the vote, Teodoro Obiangwhich is driving Equatorial Guinea 43 years ago, he won the presidential election on November 20, according to the total tally released Saturday, 26, by the National Election Justice. At the age of eighty The tallest head in the worldHe received 405,910 out of 411,081 valid votes as the candidate of the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), which ran in alliance with 14 other political parties. With these numbers, the National Electoral Council declared Obiang “officially elected President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea for a new seven-year term,” said the Minister of the Interior and the President of the Electoral College, Faustino Ndong Esono Ayang. Since becoming independent Spain In 1968, the country had only two presidents: Obiang and his uncle Francisco Macías, who overthrew him in a coup in 1979. In the elections, the population also elected one hundred members of the Chamber of Deputies and 55 out of 70 senators, as well as representatives of the country’s municipalities. The government won the 100 seats in the House of Representatives, 55 in the Senate, as well as 588 members of the assemblies, without the other two parties getting any representation in those polls. The elections were held after the headquarters of the banned opposition Citizens for Innovation party in Malabo were stormed by security forces on September 29 after a five-day siege.

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With Obiang’s presidency, Equatorial Guinea has invested heavily in infrastructure thanks to the country’s oil wealth (one of the largest oil producers in sub-Saharan Africa), the main source of state revenue. But his opponents accuse him of seizing oil profits and benefiting close associates, while most citizens live in poverty. Human rights organizations also accuse the regime of being one of the most repressive regimes. The interior minister, who estimated 98% of the electorate, said the final results would have to be ratified by the Constitutional Court. The small Central African country, with a population of about 1.5 million and the only Spanish-speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa, held a presidential election last Sunday, which was due to take place in 2023, but was brought forward to save costs – according to the government – It coincides with the legislative and municipal elections. Equatorial Guinea is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to the NGO Transparency International.

* With information from EFE