Sassou Nguesso Re-elected President of Congo Republic

Denis Sassou Nguesso, aged 82, has been re-elected as President of the Republic of Congo, receiving 94.82% of the votes in an election that has extended his nearly 42-year rule. The Congolese Labour Party, the major opposition party, boycotted the election, citing a lack of transparency.

Prominent opposition figures, including Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and André Okombi Salissa, have been imprisoned for nearly a decade prior to the vote. Human rights activists reported arrests and the suspension of public gatherings.

Local advocate Joe Washington Ebina noted that the voting day saw a nationwide internet blackout. Although the reported voter turnout was 84.65%, polling stations in the capital, Brazzaville, were nearly empty.

Sassou's closest rival, Mabio Mavoung Zinga, received only 1.48% of the vote. Sassou, who first came to power in 1979, returned to leadership after a civil war in 1997 and has faced ongoing allegations of corruption and economic instability in the oil-driven economy.