President Sassou-Nguesso Wins Congo Polls
Congolese
President Denis Sassou-Nguesso has won another seven
years in office.
The electoral commission said Mr Sassou-Nguesso
secured 78.6% of the votes with his nearest rival
gaining just 7.5% from Sunday's polls.
The candidate who had been expected to be Mr
Sassou-Nguesso's nearest rival, the former finance
Minister Mathias Dzon, won only 2.3%.
Mr Sassou-Nguesso has been in power for most of the
past 30 years.
Protests
After the preliminary results were announced, about
2,000 opposition supporters came on to the streets
of Brazzaville in a peaceful protest but, were
dispersed by riot police firing tear gas.
Eyewitnesses say one man was beaten up with his face
bleeding while the police also confiscated and
destroyed his recording equipment and that of a
French television crew.
Opposition leaders had urged voters to stay away
from Sunday's election, saying the government had
inflated the electoral figures.
BBC/Saint/Yinka