Nearly 2.6 million Congolese voters were expected at polling stations this Sunday, March 15, to elect the President of the Republic. The election pits seven candidates against each other, including the outgoing president Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who has been in power since 1997. In voting centers, voters and election officials were already mobilized to ensure the smooth running of the process.
At this polling station in Ouenzé, in the fifth district of Brazzaville, voters have turned out to fulfill their civic duty. With voter cards in hand, some voters say they want to take part in an important moment in the country’s history.
Yes, it is important because it is a civic duty. As we say, it is both a right and a duty. I have just fulfilled my duty, so it is good for the Republic.
MARTIAL GERVAIS BABELA, Voter
It is a civic duty. I am obliged to come and vote because it is my right to vote. Every citizen who is of voting age has the right to come and vote this morning.
ALPHONSE MONGO, Voter
For me it was very important because we are here to give our father what he wants; that is completely normal. We are Congolese citizens, so we must simply come and give our vote to our father. That is completely normal.
LIONEL MPOUGALOGUI , Voter
Inside the polling rooms, members of the voting stations ensure that procedures are respected: verifying identities, signing the electoral register, and placing the ballot in the transparent ballot box. The outgoing president Denis Sassou-Nguesso, a candidate seeking re-election, after leaving the voting booth praised the organization of the election and called on Congolese citizens to participate massively in the vote.
First of all, I have fulfilled my duty. That is what I said during the campaign. Every Congolese must understand the right to vote. It is also a duty. There is the right, but there is also the duty. My wife and I have just fulfilled ours. You can see the mobilization around this polling station. I hope that everyone here who has a voter card and the right to vote will come and crowd into the polling station.
DENIS SASSOU-NGUESSO, Presidential Candidate
A few kilometers away, in the 7th district of Mfilou, candidate Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou voted around 12 p.m. The president of La Chaîne party mentioned the conditions under which the campaign took place, which he described as short, while also calling on Congolese citizens to exercise their right to vote.
We came to fulfill our duty, which is to cast our vote. We try to contribute whatever little we can so that the electoral process can improve. I simply note that there is not much turnout, which we had already feared, and everyone did, starting with President Sassou himself, who had already called on Congolese people to get up and come vote. But that said, since it is everyone’s freedom, my freedom is to cast my vote, to be a candidate, and also to cast my vote.
JOSEPH KIGNOUMBI KIA MBOUNGOU, Presidential Candidate
This presidential election is taking place in a political and social context marked by the shutdown of all electronic communications since this morning. Seven candidates validated by the Constitutional Court, including several opposition figures and new faces on the national political scene, are competing for the presidency. Meanwhile, in polling centers like this one, every ballot placed in the box helps shape Congo’s political future for the next five years.
