The Constitutional Court validated on Tuesday April 6 the election of Denis Sassou-Nguesso in the March 21 poll. He received 88.40% of the vote instead of 88.57%, according to the provisional results, which the Court modified slightly after rejecting the appeals for annulment of three opponents.
The deliberation of the Court was emptied by its president Auguste Iloki after a hearing that lasted several hours. “Is elected President of the Republic the candidate Sassou-Nguesso Denis who collected 88.40% of votes in the first round,” said Mr Iloki.
Lawyer for Denis Sassou-Nguesso, Mr. Emmanuel Oko described the victory of his client as clear and especially understood why the Court made some slight changes in the results. “You know, small mistakes never fail. At the beginning it is 88.57%, in the end it is 88.40%, it is more or less the same thing,” he said.
For his part, Mr. Jean-Philippe Esseau, lawyer for Jean-Jacques Serge Yhombi Opango, an ally of Guy-Brice Parfait Kolélas, an opponent who died the day after the election, admittedly bowed to the Court’s verdict, but he believes that the problem remains. “When Kolélas died, he lost his legal personality, so he lost his status as a candidate. Can we pronounce the results of a deceased person; of a person who is no longer a candidate?
The electoral dispute emptied, his victory confirmed Denis Sassou-Nguesso now awaits his investiture for a fourth term of five years with many challenges to meet.