The world’s longest serving president has won re-election in Equatorial Guinea to continue presiding over his authoritarian regime.
He seized power in 1979 after a military takeover and has survived several coup attempts He has ruled Equatorial Guinea for 43 years.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 80, secured almost 95% of votes, officials announced six days after the vote.
“The results prove us right again,” Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the president’s son, said. “We continue to be a great party.”
President Obiang has a strong grip on the oil-rich central African nation, with family members in key government roles.
Some opposition candidates stood, but none were expected to win.
Political opposition is barely tolerated and severely hampered by the lack of a free press, as all broadcast media is either owned outright by the government or controlled by its allies.
It is thought that President Obiang, who has previously denied accusations of human rights abuses and election rigging, intends to use his sixth term to clean up his international reputation.
Equatorial Guinea has a history of what critics call fraudulent elections result.
BBC