(4 minutes read)
· Denis Sassou Nguesso, President, Republic of Congo appears to be in the winning course
· According to early results, he seems to be way ahead of others
· The counting is in progress despite the death of his main rival Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who passed away infected by coronavirus on the polling day.
Denis Sassou Nguesso, President, Republic of Congo appears to be in the winning course. According to early results, he seems to be way ahead of others. The counting is in progress despite the death of his main rival Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who passed away infected by coronavirus on the polling day.
According to provisional official results from 35 polling stations, Sassou Nguesso, 77, was on track for a landslide first-round victory, although the final results are expected only by the weekend. According to a wire agency, in some districts Sassou Nguesso is ahead and in some areas he won 100% of the vote.
Sassou Nguesso has been in power for a total of 36 years now and is known for his iron fisted rule and crushing dissents. He rose to power in 1979 and was forced to introduce multi-party elections in 1991. In the election that took place later after an year, he was defeated at the ballot box. However, he returned to power in 1997 following a prolonged civil war. Since then he has been winning every election that was held.
A constitutional amendment in 2015 lifted the ban on presidential candidates aged over 70 and scrapped a two-term limit, to contest again. That allowed him to run again in 2016. Two prominent candidates in that vote — former army general Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and ex-minister Andre Okombi Salissa — were sentenced in 2018, tried and were sentenced for 20 years in prison for sedition charges.
