Congo-Brazzaville: Congo’s ‘Nintendo Election’ Was Rigged From the Start, Observer Says

Civil society groups in Congo-Brazzaville are challenging the integrity of last weekend’s presidential election, which handed veteran leader Denis Sassou Nguesso a fifth term in office. Bertrand Menier Kounianga, spokesperson for the civil society platform CAPGED, tells RFI the vote was “rigged from start to finish”.

Observers say the polls were marked by a communications blackout, a lack of oversight in polling stations and turnout figures that do not match what they witnessed on the ground.

Sassou Nguesso was credited with 94.82 percent of the vote, while all other candidates remained below 2 percent.

A former French colony, Congo-Brazzaville has been independent since 1960, but 82-year-old Sassou Nguesso has dominated its politics for decades, ruling under a one-party system from 1979 to 1992 and again since 1997 under a multi-party system.

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Following the vote, candidates now have until Sunday to challenge the results, after which the Constitutional Court has 15 days to review any complaints before announcing the final outcome.

Kounianga says the problems began well before polling day.

RFI: You refer to a “Nintendo election”. What does that mean?

Bertrand Menier Kounianga: A Nintendo election is one that has been rigged from start to finish by the person in control of everything – from preparation through to the vote. We observed that nothing was clear, nothing was credible, and nothing could reassure the people.

RFI: The vote was marked by a widespread communications blackout on polling day. What difficulties did this cause for voters, candidates and observers?

BK: For the candidates it was very serious because it prevented them from coordinating with their teams on the ground. As a result, almost all opposition candidates had virtually no observers or delegates in polling stations.

For us voters, it was very serious because, whilst voting was taking place, we were in contact with our relatives and we saw cases of illness – people who fell ill and could not call an ambulance, could not reach family for help or even small amounts of money.

It was very distressing for both voters and candidates, and it is unacceptable.

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RFI: Traffic was banned and shops were closed. CAPGED deployed observers to 49 polling stations in Brazzaville but could not obtain accreditation. Under these circumstances, how did you manage to carry out your work?

BK: We applied for accreditation a month in advance, but we did not receive it. So we decided to carry out citizen observation. We sent members of our platform who had valid voter cards and whom we had trained.

On polling day, they went to polling stations with their voter cards. They were able to check voting materials – whether the ink was indelible, whether registers were present, whether voter lists were displayed, and whether the booth and the ballot box were in the right place.

RFI: What stood out to you about how the voting process was conducted?

BK: Most candidates, apart from the president, did not have representatives in polling stations.

Secondly, almost all polling stations opened late and closed early. They were supposed to close at 5pm, but some closed at 4pm, and in one case at 11am – at Plateau A1 primary school. In polling station one, there were no more than three ballot papers.

In several polling stations, we observed that people were not motivated. Voting started late and there was no real enthusiasm. This was reflected when the results were announced – there was no celebration in the city, even though the president had won a landslide victory.

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RFI: Yet the authorities announced a turnout of over 84 percent. What do you make of that?

BK: The figures published by the authorities do not reflect reality on the ground. Most media and witnesses present will tell you there was no enthusiasm. From what we observed, turnout could not have exceeded 10 percent.

RFI: What else did you observe? There were reports of multiple voting – is that correct?

BK: Yes, there were cases of multiple voting. In some polling stations, particularly in Poto-Poto, we were told that militants who had voted on the 12th voted again in other polling stations.

Public officials responsible for distributing voter cards withheld them, but those cards ended up at the headquarters of the majority candidate. On polling day, people came to vote in place of others. That meant some individuals voted several times, creating duplicate votes.

I saw an official – a member of an advisory council – arrive late at a polling station. When police told him he could no longer vote, he said he had already voted elsewhere and wanted to vote again. He showed two voter cards, neither in his name.

There were also people who had moved and ended up with two voter cards – one for their old neighbourhood and one for their new one. They voted in both places. These incidents were repeated. There was also ballot box stuffing in some polling stations, and we documented it.

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RFI: What did you see when the votes were counted after polling closed?

BK: In some polling stations, the count did not take place on site. After voting ended, law enforcement and administrative staff took ballot boxes away. That is worrying because the boxes could be tampered with outside the view of observers and candidates.