Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso has been re-elected with 94.82% of the vote, state television said on March 17, extending his nearly 42-year rule over the Central African oil producer. Sassou, 82, faced six little‑known challengers in a race whose run‑up was tightly managed by the ruling Congolese Labour Party.
“By reelecting me by a landslide, the people have kept their word. Now it is up to us to keep ours. We promise to commit ourselves fully to doing everything possible,” Sassou N’Guesso told reporters at his party’s headquarters.
Ahead of the vote, human rights activists were arrested, several opposition parties were suspended and public gatherings were closely monitored, said Congolese human rights activist Joe Washington Ebina.
Voting was marred by late openings at some polling stations and a nationwide internet blackout. State television reported turnout of 84.65%, though many polling stations in Brazzaville on election day had short or non-existent lines.
Sassou’s closest challenger, Mabio Mavoungou Zinga, 69, a retired customs inspector and former member of parliament, won 1.48% of the vote. Sassou is a former paratrooper who took power in 1979. He lost Congo’s first multi-party elections in 1992 but seized power again in 1997.
A constitutional change in 2015 scrapped term limits and the presidential age cap, enabling him to run for three additional five‑year terms. This latest term, fifth, is meant to be his last.
The economy, heavily dependent on oil, has stabilised in recent years after a decade-long downturn. Congo successfully completed a three-year IMF programme last year.
People in poverty But over half the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank, and many Congolese lack reliable access to electricity, running water and basic healthcare.
Congo has also faced persistent allegations of corruption. The election is the latest in a trend of octogenarian African leaders clinging to power. Sassou N’Guesso is the third-longest-serving African president, only behind Cameroon’s Paul Biya and Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
