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Opposition urges peaceful demos against Congo president

Sunday, 27 March 2016 9:51 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 27 March 2016 9:49 AM ]

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso addresses a press conference in Brazzaville on March 24, 2016. ©AFP

Five opposition candidates, who were defeated in Congo's recent presidential elections, have called for “peaceful” protests against the re-election of incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso for a new five-year term.

Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who received more than 15 percent of the votes, and Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, who came third with almost 14 percent, as well as three other presidential candidates made the plea in a statement released on Saturday.

"We urge the Congolese people to fully exercise their sovereignty over a democratic victory through elections recognized by law: dead cities and other strikes, meetings and peaceful marches, until the verdict of the ballot boxes is respected," the statement read.

The opposition figures described the circumstances surrounding last week’s polls as "an abuse of power," calling for the first post-election industrial action on March 29.

Sassou Nguesso won 60 percent of the votes cast in the March 20 elections, which were dismissed by the opposition as fraudulent.

The 72-year-old former paratrooper colonel served as president from 1979 to 1992 and returned to power in 1997 following a civil war. He further won two successive terms in 2002 and 2009.

A voting ballot is seen during the presidential election in Brazzaville, the Republic of the Congo, on March 20, 2016. ©Reuters

The European Union did not send any observers to monitor the polls, saying conditions were not met for a transparent and democratic vote in the former French colony.

The oil- and timber-rich African country has been on edge since last October, when a controversial constitutional referendum ended a two-term limit on presidential mandates and allowed Sassou Nguesso to run for a third term in office.

Over the past few months, people have held demonstrations and staged general strikes to express their outrage at the contentious move.

Critics have accused the Congolese president of nepotism and corruption.

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