Congo Brazzaville
Voters return Congolese President to office

Misanet.com / IPS, 18 March - In the absence of any credible opponent, the incumbent President of Congo Brazzaville, Denis Sassou Nguesso, was re-elected for another seven-year term. Pierre Oba, Minister of Interior, announced this week that Sassou Nguesso won an overwhelming majority in the 10 March balloting, garnering 89.41 percent of the votes cast in Congo Brazzaville.

The runners-up were Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou who won 2.76 percent of the votes and Angele Bandou, the only female candidate, with 2.32 percent. The four other contenders - Adamo Mateta, Come Mankassa, Jean Felix Demba Tello and Bonaventure Mizidy - received one percent each. 

Voter turnout was 74.70 percent. The state-run television said Sassou Nguesso won a large majority in most regions. 

In Brazzaville's populous southern district of Makelekele, reputed to be pro-opposition, Sassou Nguesso received 92 percent of the votes, whereas in Talangai, one of his northern strongholds, he carried every polling station. 

The results must now be confirmed by the Supreme Court, which, according to the country's constitution, is the final arbitrator in declaring the poll's outcome. 

Six opposition candidates vied against Sassou Nguesso for the ballots of the country's 1.733 million registered voters. There were 1.295 million votes cast in the 4,100 polling stations scattered throughout the country, Oba reported. 

Sassou Nguesso, who served as military head of state from 1979 to 1992, bounced back to power after his 1997 civil war victory. Political analysts say he was the favourite in the current election.

Sassou Nguesso received support from 50 political parties and 250 organisations at both the national and regional levels. More than 250 political parties exist in the Congo, although most of them are composed of large extended families or small political groupings. 

The best funded of the candidates, Sassou Nguesso was the only one to have campaigned in each of the country's ten regions, including the ten suburban towns around the capital. His campaign centred on improving the peace process, a popular theme among the war-weary Congolese, and the reconstruction of basic infrastructure. 

The incumbent also had an edge with the absence of former Congolese leaders now in exile and the withdrawal of three opposition candidates, one of whom was the former Speaker of the National Assembly, Andre Milongo. 

Former President Pascal Lissouba and his former Prime Minister, Bernard Kolelas, who were both deposed after the 1997 civil war, did not run. Both men have been tried and sentenced in absentia.

The opposition candidates lead small political movements, which operate locally or regionally. Milongo, who was the opposition front-runner, withdrew on the eve of the election, protesting lack of transparency. 

Milongo condemned the government's refusal to heed opposition demands for a single ballot and to have election observers placed in each polling station. Prior to Milongo's withdrawal, two other opposition candidates, Martin Mberri and Anselme Makoumbou-Nkouka also pulled out of the race.

According to observers, the lack of credible opposition candidates reduced the political significance of the race, a claim rejected by Oba. "The balloting took place in the presence of local and international observers, including representatives of the candidates," the Minister of the Interior underlined, noting that no incidents marred the equanimity of the elections. 

For the moment, there has been no comment from either opponents or non-governmental organisations about the outcome of the race. 

Sassou Nguesso's election manifesto, entitled "Pathways Toward New Hope," revolves around a 12-point programme for "modernisation and progress." Among the points are the eradication of unemployment and poverty, a reform of the tax system, and an end to the country's state of high indebtedness. 

- The Congo is far too precious to abandon it to chance, the 59-year-old president noted. 

By Lyne Mikangou, IPS

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