Equatoguinean president becomes world's longest-serving ruler

Confirmed for a sixth term as president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled oil-rich Equatorial Guinea since August 1979, overseeing a regime notorious for crushing dissent and fearing coups.

The 80-year-old president's 43 years in power are the longest tenure of any living leader in the world, with the exception of monarchs, according to France 24.

He seized power from Francisco Macias Nguema, who in 1968 had become Equatorial Guinea's first president upon independence from Spain and later declared himself president for life. Macias, Obiang's uncle, was executed by firing squad two months after the coup.

Obiang's opponents say that under his iron-fisted, hermetic tenure, the country has become the "North Korea of Africa".

The regime's ruthlessness is regularly condemned by rights watchdogs, who have documented mass, arbitrary arrests, dissidents held in nightmarish prison conditions and frequent sweeps against suspected plotters.

In a country where there is just a single authorized opposition party, Obiang exercises near-total political control.

In 2016, he was re-elected with 93.7 percent of the vote: this time, the official result gave him 94.9 percent, on a turnout of 98 percent.