Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso has been re-elected for a fifth consecutive term, extending his nearly 42 years in power, according to provisional results announced on Tuesday. Interior Minister Raymond Zephirin Mboulou stated on state TV that Sassou Nguesso received 94.82 percent of the vote in Sunday's election. State television also reported a turnout of 84.65 percent; however, many polling stations in the capital, Brazzaville, had short lines or none at all, raising questions about the accuracy of participation figures.

Sassou Nguesso, 82, was projected by analysts and diplomats to easily win the election, as he ran against six lesser-known candidates. Two key parties boycotted the elections over allegations of unfair electoral practices, with two prominent opposition figures, General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and Andre Okombi Salissa, imprisoned for nearly a decade. In the run-up to the vote, the internet was shut down as usual during presidential elections, and traffic was restricted across the capital, measures critics say stifle dissent and transparency.

Clarisse Massamba, a teacher who voted at the Lycee Javoueh in Brazzaville, told The Associated Press that it was a foregone conclusion Sassou Nguesso would win. She said, "Everyone knows that, faced with his six inexperienced opponents, President Denis Sassou Nguesso will be re-elected with a high score as usual. Since the election is not a big issue, we shouldn't cut off communication." During the campaign, Sassou Nguesso and his opponents were mismatched, with the incumbent president being the only candidate to travel nationwide to canvass voters, and his effigies prominently displayed in the capital.

Joe Washington Ebina, a Congolese human rights activist, informed Reuters that human rights activists were arrested, several opposition parties were suspended, and public gatherings were closely monitored ahead of the election. Republic of Congo continues to struggle with high international debt, which, according to the World Bank, stands at 94.5 percent of its gross domestic product, despite being an oil and mineral-rich country. Sassou Nguesso, who leads the Congolese Party of Labour, first came to power in 1979 and ruled until 1992. He returned to power in 1997 as a militia leader following a four-month civil war. In 2015, a constitutional referendum removed presidential age and term limits, allowing him to run again, a move widely seen as consolidating his long-standing rule amid economic challenges and political repression.

Source: www.aljazeera.com