Republic of Congo’s Sassou Nguesso wins 5th presidential term
Denis Sassou Nguesso was declared Tuesday the winner of the presidential election held on Sunday in the Republic of Congo, securing a fifth consecutive term.
Nguesso got 94.82% of the vote, according to official provisional results announced on state television by Interior Minister Raymond Mboulou.
He said the voter turnout was 84.65%, and 2.6 million ballots were cast.
Nguesso faced six challengers, including former lawmaker Mabio Mavoungou Zinga and veteran legislator Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou, while two major opposition candidates boycotted the vote because of alleged unfair practices.
The 82-year-old leader first came to power in 1979 but went into exile in France after losing the 1992 election. He returned in 1997 and seized power in an armed uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Pascal Lissouba, and has since dominated the country's politics.
Running for the Congolese Party of Labor ticket, this will be Nguesso's fifth straight term after victories in 2002, 2009, 2016 and 2021, when he won more than 88% of the vote, following 2015 constitutional changes that reset term limits and removed the presidential age cap.
