Politics of Equatorial Guinea

The current president of Equatorial Guinea is Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The 1982 constitution of Equatorial Guinea, written following the 1979 deposition of dictator Francisco Macías Nguema and with help from the UN, gives the presidency extensive powers, including naming and dismissing members of the cabinet, making laws by decree, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives, negotiating and ratifying treaties and serving as commander in chief of the armed forces. The Prime Minister, Ignacio Milam Tang is appointed by the President and operates under powers designated by the President.

President Obiang overthrew previous dictator Francisco Macías Nguema. On Christmas 1975, Macías had 150 alleged coup plotters executed to the sound of a band playing Mary Hopkin's tune Those Were the Days in a national stadium.[16]

Under President Obiang, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, in April 2006, to establish a Social Development Fund in the country, implementing projects in the areas of health, education, women's affairs and the environment.[17]

Since 2005, MPRI, a U.S. based international policing consulting company, has worked in Equatorial Guinea to train police forces in appropriate human rights practices. In February 2010, Equatorial Guinea signed a contract with the MPRI subsidiary of the US defense corporation, L3 Communications for coastal surveillance and maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.[18][19]

Although President Obiang signed a national anti-torture decree in 2006 to ban all forms of abuse and improper treatment in Equatorial Guinea and commissioned the renovation and modernization of Black Beach prison in 2007 to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners,[20] human rights abuses continue.Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International among other non-governmental organizations have documented severe human rights abuses in prisons, including torture, beatings, unexplained deaths and illegal detention.[21][22]

Under President Obiang, the basic infrastructure of Equatorial Guinea has also improved. Asphalt now covers more than 80% of the national roads and ports and airports are being built across the entire country

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