Denis Sassou Nguesso has been re-elected president of the Republic of Congo (also known as Congo-Brazzaville) with 94.82% of the vote in the first round of elections held on Sunday.
The preliminary results were announced on national television on Tuesday evening.
The 82-year-old leader has ruled the resource-rich Central African nation for over 40 years and will remain in power until 2031 following his re-election.
Interior Minister Raymond Zéphyrin Mboulou declared that Sassou Nguesso received 2,507,038 votes, securing 94.82% of all ballots cast.
Mboulou also mentioned a voter turnout of 84.65%, although journalists from the French news agency, AFP, present in Brazzaville on election day, reported a noticeably low turnout at polling stations.
The results are still subject to confirmation by the country’s Constitutional Court.
