Obiang, of the ‘Freedom Coup’ to seek re-election in Equatorial Guinea as the leader with the longest years in office

The president, born in Spanish Guinea, based his mandate on the repression of the opposition in the face of international isolation

November 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, aspires this Sunday to extend his 43-year term as head of the African country, which makes him the world leader who has served the longest in office amid complaints of repression of the opposition and the arrest of activists to cement their authority.

Obiang, 80, announced in September his intention to run again at the polls and appears as the main favorite to revalidate the position, which he agreed to after a coup in 1979 against his uncle Francisco Macías Nguema.

The Equatorial Guinean president was born in 1942 in Mongomo, belonging to what was then Spanish Guinea –officially the Spanish Gulf of Guinea Territories–, and at the age of 21 he entered a course within the Territorial Guard.

Subsequently, Obiang entered the General Military Academy of Zaragoza. Once his training was completed with his graduation in 1965, he was assigned as an ensign to Equatorial Guinea, passing through Mikomeseng and Bata before arriving in the capital, Malabo. After the proclamation of the country’s independence and the rise to power of his uncle in 1968, Obiang was appointed military governor of the island of Fernando Poo, now known as Bioko.

The page of the Presidency of Equatorial Guinea then points to a series of “continuous promotions” that between 1969 and 1979 will allow him to rise to the position of lieutenant to vice-minister of Defense, from which he will lead the coup against Macías Nguema.

His continued rises in the ranks were justified in part by his belonging to the esangui, a tribal subgroup of the bantu fang -majority in the country-, following the rise to power of his uncle, according to the Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB).

The coup against Macías Nguema, carried out on August 3, 1979 together with a group of officers and described by the new authorities as ‘the coup of Freedom’, led to his election as president of the Supreme Military Council, which ratified him as leader of the country and from which he initiated a series of measures to cement his position.

CONSOLIDATION OF POWER THROUGH REPRESSION

Among the first actions carried out by Obiang was the execution of his uncle, accused of numerous atrocities and increasing repression in the African country, after a summary trial. Macías Nguema had led a totalitarian regime since 1968 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.

For this reason, the Equatoguinean president has praised the uprising on numerous occasions -which would have had the support of Gabon and the inaction of Spain, to which Macías Nguema would have asked for help in the weeks prior to a possible uprising-, using it as a part of a campaign to reinforce his image as protector of Equatorial Guinea.

However, the period after the overthrow and execution of Macías Nguema was not placid, with several attempts between 1981 and 1986 to which the authorities responded with numerous death sentences. CIDOB recalls that, although Obiang approved an amnesty that affected 5,000 political prisoners and asked foreign residents to return to the country, he ruled out measures that would promote democracy in the medium term and rejected opposition activities.

In this context, the Equatorial Guinean president submitted in a referendum in 1982 a Fundamental Law known as the Annonibe Charter that opened the door to the creation of a civil Government, although it was not until 1987 that Obiang founded his party, the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), which continues to lead.

It was at the head of the PDGE that he presented himself to the 1989 presidential elections, in which he was elected to the position in the absence of other parties, while in 1996 he prevailed again in the first multiparty elections in the African country, in the midst of the first allegations of fraud.

Thus, the opposition accused the president of preventing them from campaigning normally, which led to the withdrawal of all the candidacies, with the exception of that of Secundino Oyono — leader of the Social Democratic and Popular Convergence (CSDP) –. Criticism was added by international observers, tarnishing Obiang’s victory.

The president, who partially gave in to these pressures with a cosmetic decision that included the entry of various opponents into positions of little relevance in the Government, again achieved re-election in 2002 with more than 97 percent of the votes in the midst of a new boycott opponent.

The situation has been repeated since then in the 2009 and 2016 elections, in which Obiang obtained more than 95 and 93 percent of the votes, respectively, without diminishing the complaints of fraud and manipulation of the results by the opposition, whose activities are severely limited in the country.

Obiang has, however, faced several coup attempts, including one in 2004 led by mercenaries led by Simon Mann, a member of the British special forces. The attempt would have been backed by the exiled opposition Severo Moto Nsá. The uprising had international ramifications after the arrest in South Africa of Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The government also denounced an “international terrorist act” in 2018 and stated that it would have been organized in France, although it said that “this does not imply that the French government has anything to do with it.” “This is not a coup for the moment,” said the Foreign Minister, Agapito Mba Mokoy, who spoke of “mercenaries and terrorists coordinated and financed by citizens who are not necessarily from Equatorial Guinea.

CORRUPTION ACCUSES AGAINST HIM AND HIS FAMILY

Parallel to the rise to power of his figure and his ratification in office, accusations have piled up against him and his family for cases of corruption linked to income derived from the great wealth obtained through the exploitation of the country’s natural resources. .

These accusations have been embodied especially in Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as ‘Teodorín’, who has been sentenced in France for money laundering and embezzlement, amid complaints that these acts impede the development of public and social projects that improve the living conditions of the population.

‘Teodorín’, who occupies the position of vice president, was sentenced to three years in prison for laundering in France millions of euros from corrupt practices carried out in Equatorial Guinea when he was minister to acquire properties in France for an estimated sum of 150 millions of euros.

Added to the sentence are sanctions adopted by the British Government for “embezzlement” and bribery, while London pointed out that ‘Teodorín’ had spent more than 500 million dollars in the acquisition of luxury residences around the world, a private jet, cars and collectibles related to singer Michael Jackson.

In response, Equatorial Guinea announced the closure of its Embassy in the United Kingdom, denouncing “interference” in the internal affairs of the country, which under the Obiang Presidency has distanced itself from the international community and increasingly relies on oil exports and gas, which account for nearly three quarters of revenue.

The non-governmental organization Transparency International collected in its report for 2022 that the country is among the last positions in its Corruption Perception Index, with 17 points out of a hundred, well below the average for the continent, of 33 points — already the lowest worldwide”.