77 -year old Nguesso re-elected Congo’s President after 36 years as incumbent’

The 77 year old President of Republic of Congo Sassou Nguesso, who has been ruling the country for thirty-six years, has won a fourth five-year term as president of the Central African country.

Penpushing reports that, his 61 year old closest opponent, Parfait Kolelas died on the election day from coronavirus complications while en route to France for medical treatment, while Nguesso polled 88 percent of the vote, the deceased scored 7 percent and another contestant Mathias Dzon, a former Minister of Finance had 5 per cent of the total votes cast.

The Interior Minister Raymond Mboulou pronounced  the incumbent as the winner of the March 21 election on local Television Congolaise, however, critics had raised growing concerns about the freedom of opposition and alleged the prevalence of human rights abuses under  Nguesso’s administration

Penpushing further reports that, as at the time of filing this report, Nguesso’s re-inauguration has been slated for April 16, while the constitutional court of Congo has one week to validate the results of the election.

The election which took place under internet blackout was largely peaceful, but there were allegations of irregularities and low voter participation in some areas, as reported by Blomberg, quoting the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference and an advocacy group, the Congolese Human Rights Organization.

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