Equatorial Guinea: will Obiang's son one day become president?

Teodorín, the vice-president and son of the head of state of Equatorial Guinea, will not be a presidential candidate in November. But will he one day be able to claim the highest office?

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, alias "Teodorín", himself announced what we already knew: he will not be nominated as a candidate for the next Equatoguinean presidential election. At the end of 2021, in the entourage of President Teodoro Obiang, the decision to dismiss the son and vice-president had been taken although it had long been a question of him being the official candidate of the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE). But wet up to my neck in the matter of ill-gotten gains, Teodorín will have to be patient.

However, a year ago, Teodorín hoped to see the tide turn in his favor. In July 2021, he had appealed to several communication agencies to restore his image. Insufficient. Although he may be omnipresent in the internal affairs of Equatorial Guinea, Teodorín has not succeeded in making the leaders of his party bend.

It must be said that in the ranks of the PDGE, the vice-president is not unanimous. Some historic party executives dream of seeing Teodorín offside. Considered too eccentric by some, he who seems to prefer the life of the jet-set rather than politics, and uncontrollable for others, the son of the president is not as well seen as his father.

Dissension within the party

Still, at 80 years old and after more than four decades at the head of the country, Teodoro Obiang was counting on his son to take over. However, with the anticipation of the presidential election - officially to reduce the costs - and with the case of ill-gotten gains that never ended - he was sentenced to three years in prison suspended in France -, Teodorín is currently excluded from the ballot.

Little offended by the situation, the president's son indicated that, "due to his charisma, his leadership and his political experience", his father had been elected "unanimously" as the candidate who will represent the party in the presidential election to be held on November 20.

A health walk for the Equatorial Guinean Head of State. Because no one doubts the outcome of the presidential election. But Teodorín's future remains very uncertain. For two years, the vice-president had been preparing to take the reins of the country. His elderly father and his country in a critical economic situation, will Teodorín succeed one day in living his dream?

To do this, he will have to impose himself within the PDGE and cross his fingers so that the contagion of coups in Africa does not affect his country. With a per capita GDP estimated at $35, Guinea remains in 000nd place in the Human Development Index ranking. And while the presidential clan continues to grow richer, the popular uproar only increases...