BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — Ballot counting started Sunday after polls closed in The Republic of Congo, the place President Denis Sassou N’Guesso is searching for a fifth consecutive time period. Results are anticipated inside two weeks.
The elections have been marked by a low turnout, as locals stated they didn’t consider the election would result in a change in leadership from Sassou N’Guesso, who has dominated for 42 years. Opposition events referred to as for a boycott of the election.
Six different candidates challenged the 82-year-old for the high job in the Central African nation that boasts one of the largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa. But analysts say none of them can mount a major problem in opposition to the incumbent.
The web was shut down throughout the nation as ordinary throughout the presidential election and site visitors was restricted throughout the capital.
“Everyone knows that, faced with his six inexperienced opponents, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso will be reelected with a high score as usual. Since the election is not a big issue, we shouldn’t cut off communication,” Clarisse Massamba, a instructor who voted at the Lycée Javoueh in Brazzaville, informed The Associated Press.
The marketing campaign interval confirmed an enormous mismatch between Sassou N’Guesso and his opponents, with the incumbent being the solely candidate to journey round the nation to canvass for votes. Roads in the capital metropolis, Brazzaville, have been paved with Sassou N’Guesso’s effigies.
Two different main events boycotted the elections over allegations of unfair electoral practices.
Sassou N’Guesso, working for the Congolese Party of Labor, first got here to energy in 1979 and dominated till 1992 when he organized the nation’s first multi-party elections. He returned to energy as a militia chief following a four-month civil battle in 1997.
A constitutional referendum in 2015 eliminated presidential age and time period limits, permitting him to run once more.
The nation is combating excessive worldwide debt, which stands at 94.5% of its gross home product, in accordance to the World Bank, and skyrocketing unemployment charges for younger individuals. More than half the nation’s 5.7 million inhabitants lives in poverty and 47% of the nation’s inhabitants is underneath 18.
The election is the newest in a development of octogenarian African leaders clinging to energy. Sassou N’Guesso is the third-longest-serving African president, solely behind Cameroon ’s Paul Biya and Equatorial Guinea ’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
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This story has been corrected to spell Sassou N’Guesso’s first title as Denis, not Dennis.
