2021 Republic of the Congo presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the Republic of the Congo on 21 March 2021.^[1] Incumbent president Denis Sassou Nguesso was re-elected with 88% of the vote. His main opponent, Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas, died hours after polls closed.^[2]

2021 Republic of the Congo presidential election

← 2016 21 March 2021 2026 →
Registered	2,645,283
Turnout	67.17%
Nominee Denis Sassou Nguesso Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas Party PCT UDH-YUKI Popular vote 1,539,725 138,561 Percentage 88.40% 7.96%
President before election Denis Sassou Nguesso PCT Elected President Denis Sassou Nguesso PCT

Electoral system

The President of the Republic of the Congo is elected for a five-year term, with the possibility of a maximum of two re-elections. In the election, only the candidate who obtains an absolute majority of valid votes is elected. If no candidate reaches that majority, the two candidates with the highest votes face a second round twenty-one days after the results are announced by the Constitutional Court.^[3]

Conduct

Telecommunications were cut off during election day at a national level,^[4] mirroring events from the 2016 elections, a situation that was condemned by international organizations such as the African Union.^[5]

Results

Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas, the opposition presidential candidate, died from COVID-19 on a plane en route to France for treatment, on the afternoon of the election.^[6][7] Sassou Ngessou was reelected with 88.4% of the vote.

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Denis Sassou-Nguesso	Congolese Party of Labour	1,539,725	88.40
	Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas	Union of Humanist Democrats-Yuki	138,561	7.96
	Mathias Dzon	Patriotic Union for National Renewal	33,497	1.92
	Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou	La Chaine	10,718	0.62
	Dave Mafoula	Sovereigntists	9,143	0.52
	Albert Oniangué [fr]	Independent	6,977	0.40
	Anguios Nganguia Engambé	Party for Action of the Republic	3,157	0.18
Total			1,741,778	100.00
Valid votes			1,741,778	98.03
Invalid/blank votes			35,008	1.97
Total votes			1,776,786	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,645,283	67.17
Source: Constitutional Court[8]

References

1. "Congo: Denis Sassou Nguesso fixe la date de la présidentielle". Bénin Web TV (in French). 23 December 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
2. "Congo-Brazzaville: Guy-Brice Parfait Kolélas dies from Covid on poll day". BBC News. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
3. "Congo, Brazzaville, Constitution 2015, MJP". mjp.univ-perp.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
4. "Internet shutdown in the Republic of the Congo on election day". NetBlocks. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
5. African Union Commission (AUC). "AU Commission Chairperson calls for calm and restraint in Congo Republic as election results are awaited". african-union.africa-newsroom.com. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
6. "Congo's opposition candidate Kolelas dies a day after elections". Al Jazeera. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
7. "Congo-Brazzaville : Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, principal opposant de Denis Sassou-Nguesso, meurt du Covid-19". Le Monde (in French). 22 March 2021. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
8. "Décision No 003/dcc/el/pr/21 du 06 avril 2021 sur les recours aux fins d'annulation et de report de l'élection du Président de la Republique, scrutin des 17 et 21 mars 2021, et portant proclamation des résultats définitifs de ladite élection" [Decision No 003/dcc/el/pr/21 of 6 April 2021 concerning appeals aiming at cancelling and delaying the election of the President of the Republic, in the vote of 17 and 21 March 2021, and declaring the definitive results of this election] (PDF). Constitutional Court of the Republic of the Congo (in French). 6 April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.