The Republic of Congo’s President Denis Sassou N’Guesso, who has ruled for 42 years, was reelected for a fifth consecutive term, according to provisional results announced Tuesday by authorities.
Sassou N’Guesso won 94,82% of the vote, Interior Minister Raymond Zephirin Mboulou said on state television.
Six other candidates challenged the 82-year-old for the top job in the Central African country that boasts one of the largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa.
The internet was shut down across the country as usual during the presidential election and traffic was restricted across the capital.
The election is the latest in a trend of octogenarian African leaders clinging to power. Sassou N’Guesso is the third-longest-serving African president, only behind Cameroon ’s Paul Biya and Equatorial Guinea ’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
The interior minister reported a turnout of 84.65% and 2.6 million ballots cast. But many polling stations in the capital Brazzaville saw
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