Republic of Congo President Sassou N'Guesso declared winner
Election officials in Republic of Congo have declared longtime President Denis Sassou N’Guesso the winner of an election marked by his main opponent’s death from COVID-19
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Election officials in Republic of Congo on Tuesday declared President Denis Sassou N'Guesso the winner of an election, further extending his presidency of more than 36 years in office. The election was marked by the death of his main opponent from COVID-19.
The results were announced by Interior Minister Raymond Zephirin Mboulou on national television two days after the vote in this Central African nation often overshadowed by its neighbor with a similar name, Congo.
Sassou N'Guesso received 88.5% of ballots cast, according to official results. The top opposition candidate whose death was announced the day after the election, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, won 7.8% of the vote. The remaining ballots were split among the five other contenders.
One of those candidates, Mathias Dzon, has said he plans to appeal to the Constitutional Court to cancel the official results, citing an article of the constitution “which provides for the cancellation of the ballot when a candidate dies or is unable to vote.”
However, the head of the national independent electoral commission said that the article in question does not apply this time.
"Kolelas died after the vote in Paris so Article 70 cannot be evoked in these conditions,” said Henri Bouka, who is also president of the Supreme Court in Congo.
Sassou N'Guesso, a former army general, led Republic of Congo from 1979 to 1992, when he placed third in the country's first democratic elections.
After a voluntary exile in France Sassou N’Guesso came back to power in 1997 after his supporters prevailed in a four-month civil war, and he has now been re-elected four times.