{"id":15577,"date":"2016-04-25T15:50:11","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T15:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/?p=15577"},"modified":"2016-04-26T19:06:22","modified_gmt":"2016-04-26T19:06:22","slug":"election-obiang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/election-obiang","title":{"rendered":"Africa&#8217;s Longest-Serving President Is About To Expand His 37-year Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"a6b39195b99473d6c9dd698db2668010\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:2px 0 2px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<center>\r\n\r\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\r\nfunction ShorterThan(widthMax) {\r\n                if (screen.width < widthMax) {return true;}  \r\n                else {return false}\r\n    }\r\nvar LimitWidth = 728\r\nvar MobileZoneID = 348996\r\nvar DesktopZoneID = 348995   \r\n<!--\/\/<![CDATA[\r\n   document.MAX_ct0 ='';\r\n   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?':'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?');\r\n   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);\r\n   document.write (\"<scr\"+\"ipt type='text\/javascript' src='\"+m3_u);\r\n   if (ShorterThan(LimitWidth)) {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+MobileZoneID);} else {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+DesktopZoneID);}\r\n   document.write(\"&nodis=1\");\r\n   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);\r\n   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write (\"&exclude=\" + document.MAX_used);\r\n   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));\r\n   document.write (\"&loc=\" + escape(window.location));\r\n   if (document.referrer) document.write (\"&referer=\" + escape(document.referrer));\r\n   if (document.context) document.write (\"&context=\" + escape(document.context));\r\n   if ((typeof(document.MAX_ct0) != 'undefined') && (document.MAX_ct0.substring(0,4) == 'http')) {\r\n       document.write (\"&ct0=\" + escape(document.MAX_ct0));\r\n   }\r\n   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write (\"&mmm_fo=1\");\r\n   document.write (\"'><\/scr\"+\"ipt>\");\r\n\/\/]]>--><\/script>\r\n<\/center>\n<\/div>\n<p>Teodoro Obiang, the president of Equatorial Guinea, is not only the longest-serving leader in Africa, he is among the longest-serving presidents in the world as well. He has been in power for almost 37 years, and his reign does not appear to be ending anytime soon since he is expected to win another seven-year term.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>He seized power after a military coup<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The preceding president was Obiang\u2019s uncle: Francisco Mac\u00edas. Mac\u00edas\u2019 regime was so brutal that the country was nicknamed \u201cthe Dachau of Africa\u201d and &#8220;the Auschwitz of Africa&#8221; after two well-known Nazi concentration camps. He committed a genocide against the Bubi people &#8211; a Bantu group in Central Africa &#8211; and would often execute entire families and villages. Over a third of the country fled this brutality. Once Mac\u00edas ordered the execution of Obiang\u2019s brother and other members of his family. Obiang believed that his uncle had gone insane and decided to overthrow him. Obiang successfully seized power in 1979 and sentenced his uncle to death. The new leader promised a fresh start for the country and seemingly proved it by releasing prisoners and ending forced labor. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15579\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15579\" style=\"width: 702px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-15579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2013-03-29-at-12-05-48-am-png.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"702\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2013-03-29-at-12-05-48-am-png.jpg 499w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2013-03-29-at-12-05-48-am-png-85x63.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15579\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-L54ugCYyNaI\/UVTRmmx-GNI\/AAAAAAAAHLk\/-4FZ1iEayyg\/s1600\/Screen+shot+2013-03-29+at+12.05.48+AM.png.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>His own crimes were erased from memory<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Obiang had not opposed anything in his uncle\u2019s regime until the threat against his family. He had been an active player in the brutality. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cIn reality, Obiang was to Macias what Heinrich Himmler was to Adolf Hitler,\u201d The Ottawa Citizen stated. <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was the regime\u2019s enforcer. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cThroughout most of Macias&#8217;s time in power, Lieut.-Col. Obiang was the military governor of Bioko island, which includes Malabo, the capital&#8230;Obiang was effectively in charge of the island.\u00a0Obiang was also the director of Blackbich Prison. And<\/strong> <strong>Blackbich was the very heart of the reign of terror.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Prisoners were tortured and executed in horrifying ways. <i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cObiang&#8217;s prominent role in the Macias regime was well-known at the time he seized power. But it was almost immediately erased from memory, both within Equatorial Guinea and around the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15581\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15581\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15581\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2016-04-25-at-10-50-50-am.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"700\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2016-04-25-at-10-50-50-am.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2016-04-25-at-10-50-50-am-600x513.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2016-04-25-at-10-50-50-am-85x73.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15581\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/e\/e2\/Teodoro_Obiang_Nguema_Mbasogo_with_Obamas.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Refusing to let go of power<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once Obiang seized power, he refused to let it go. In 2011, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/photos.state.gov\/libraries\/equatorialguinea\/19452\/public\/Human%20Rights%202011%20_2_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the U.S. Department of State created a report on the Human Rights Practices in Equatorial Guinea.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0It states that during the 2009 election, when Obiang won 95.37% of the vote, <em>\u201cthe lopsided results and weak independent monitoring of the electoral process raised suspicions of systematic vote fraud. Foreign diplomatic observers noted numerous irregularities and the presence of military personnel at all voting stations. There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0In addition, \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">major human rights abuses reported during the year included a disregard for the rule of law and due process, denial of basic political rights including freedom of speech and press, and widespread official corruption<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u201d Other human rights abuses were reported, including: the inability of citizens to change their government; arbitrary arrests, the detention, and incommunicado detention; poor conditions in prisons and detention facilities; harassment and deportation of foreign residents with limited due process; constraints on judicial independence; official corruption at all levels of government; restrictions on the right to privacy; restrictions on freedoms of assembly, association, and movement; violence and discrimination against women; trafficking in persons; discrimination against ethnic minorities; and restrictions on labor rights. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15583\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15583\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-15583\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2016-04-25-at-11-26-48-am.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"710\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2016-04-25-at-11-26-48-am.jpg 597w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/screen-shot-2016-04-25-at-11-26-48-am-85x63.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15583\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/7\/7d\/Teodoro_Obiang.png\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>An election at his whim<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This election is expected to end up just like 2009. Obiang is likely going to win his at least 90% of the vote, even though he is going up against six opponents. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Whoever does not vote for me is rejecting peace and opting for disorder,\u201d Obiang claimed during a rally. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">John Bennett, the former U.S. ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, said:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong> \u201cHe has managed to keep power in his hands. The election is held at his whim and it\u2019s a government by his whim.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15584\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15584\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15584\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/obiang-_1.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"700\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/obiang-_1.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/obiang-_1-600x333.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/obiang-_1-85x47.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15584\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media08.ligtv.com.tr\/img\/news\/2015\/1\/13\/40-bin-koyluye-mac-bileti\/748_416\/obiang-_1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/obama-mistake\">SEE ALSO:\u00a0Obama Reveals His Worst Mistake As President.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teodoro Obiang, the president of Equatorial Guinea, is not only the longest-serving leader in Africa,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":15584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Africa&#039;s Longest-Serving President Is About To Expand His 37-year Rule<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Once Obiang seized power, he refused to let it go.\" \/>\n<meta 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