The Republic of the Congo was scheduled to hold elections yesterday under a media blackout, in a tense vote expected to see Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso prolong his 32-year rule over the oil-rich but poor nation.
Congolese Minister of the Interior Raymond Mboulou wrote to telecoms companies urging them to shut off telephone, Internet and text-messaging services for 48 hours for “reasons of security and national safety.”
A government source told reporters the shutdown was intended to stop any “illegal” publication of the results.
Tensions have been running high in Republic of the Congo since October last year, when a public referendum backed removing a two-term limit that would have kept 72-year-old former paratrooper colonel Sassou Nguesso from power.
The vote also removed a 70-year age limit for the presidency that could have forced one of Africa’s five longest-serving leaders to step down.
The changes were approved in a referendum by 94.3 percent, dubbed “a constitutional coup” by the opposition, with protests erupting in the run-up to the vote that left several people dead.
The incumbent has said he has no doubt he will beat his eight rivals, describing election day as a “penalty kick and then victory.”
On Friday, five presidential hopefuls — including former head of the Congolese military General Jean-Marie Mokoko — signed an agreement to back the strongest candidate among them in the event of a second-round vote.
While the Republic of the Congo saw “robust growth” of 5 percent over five years through 2014, with oil and timber providing its main revenues, the country remains in dire straits.
“[The Republic of the Congo] continues to suffer from high rates of poverty and inequality, large infrastructure gaps, and important development challenges,” an IMF report released in July last year said.
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