By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo has been declared the winner of the Presidential Election held last Sunday in the Central African country. With this, President Nguesso will be serving his fifth term in office as president of Congo.
Two days after the election, the country’s Minister of Interior, Zephirin Mboulou, announced that the incumbent secured 95% of the votes cast to emerge as the winner of that presidential election, despite efforts mounted by opposition parties to stop the incumbent.
Before his election, President Nguesso had spent over four decades in office and is at the moment Africa’s longest-serving ruler. Although last Sunday’s election was widely reported to have recorded a very low voter turnout, it was doubtful that a divided opposition could overturn more than forty years of experience in politics, especially in an African-style democracy reputed for its weak institutions.
With this development, it is doubtful that Congo-Brazzaville would move beyond the known, which include debt burden, a high poverty rate, and concerns about human rights.
