Nepotism decried in Equatorial Guinea

A weekend measure that gives the president of Equatorial Guinea the right to pick his own successor shows the country is mired in nepotism, an analyst said. The government in Equatorial Guinea claims 99 percent of the population turned out in favor of a weekend referendum that gives President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in power for more than 30 years, the right to pick his own successor. Pablo Mba Nsang, a member of the opposition Convergence for Social Democracy Party, told the BBC the weekend vote was a ruse to give the president the authority to extend his reign. Joseph Kraus, a program director rights group Equatorial Guinea Justice, told the BBC the measure was an act to establish nepotism in the country's political system. "There clearly is a worry that his eldest son Teodoro is being groomed to become the next president of the country," he said. The president's son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, is the current agriculture minister. The BBC reports he was accused of pilfering state wealth and was the target of a U.S. effort to recover some $70 million in assets. The current president is in his seventh term after seizing power from his uncle.