The Republic of Congo’s constitutional court confirmed President Denis Sassou-N’Guesso’s election win on Saturday, granting the 82-year-old leader a fifth term. At the end of a hearing, court president Auguste Iloki said Sassou-N’Guesso was elected with 94.90% of the vote, an absolute majority.
The court’s confirmation settled the dispute over results announced earlier by Interior Minister Raymond Zephirin Mboulou. Provisional results released March 17 had put Sassou-N’Guesso in the lead with 94.82% of the vote, according to the AP report.
Several challengers sought to overturn the outcome after the provisional results. The AP said six other candidates challenged Sassou-N’Guesso for the top job in the Central African country, and that two of the challengers had rejected the provisional results last week.
Uphrem Mafoula, one of the challengers, filed an appeal with the constitutional court seeking to annul the election. The court rejected Mafoula’s appeal on Saturday, according to the AP story, after the hearing and Iloki’s statement at its conclusion.
The election unfolded against a broader pattern of long-serving leaders remaining in power in parts of Africa. The AP said Sassou-N’Guesso is the third-longest-serving African president, behind Cameroon’s Paul Biya and Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Sassou-N’Guesso, who runs for the Congolese Party of Labor, first came to power in 1979 and ruled until 1992, when he organized the country’s first multi-party elections. The AP said he returned to power as a militia leader following a four-month civil war in 1997.
The AP also described a campaign marked by an uneven contest. It said Sassou-N’Guesso was the only candidate to travel around the country to canvass for votes, and that roads in Brazzaville were paved with his effigies.
The campaign included a separate dispute over the legitimacy of the electoral process. The AP said two major parties boycotted the elections over allegations of unfair electoral practices.
The Republic of Congo’s election rules have also helped enable the incumbent’s candidacy. The AP reported that a constitutional referendum in 2015 removed presidential age and term limits, allowing N’Guesso to run again.
Beyond the political contest, the AP said the country is struggling with high international debt and rising youth unemployment. It cited World Bank figures that put the country’s debt at 94.5% of its gross domestic product, and said more than half of the Republic of Congo’s 5.7 million people live in poverty, with 47% under 18.
“The president Denis Sassou-N’Guesso is elected with 94.90% of the vote, representing an absolute majority,” Iloki said at the end of the hearing.