President Nguesso and wife, Antoinette: another term in office

Voters in Congo Republic have overwhemingly backed a change in the constitution that will allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to run for a third consecutive term, the results of a referendum showed on Tuesday.

Sassou Nguesso has ruled the oil-producing nation for 31 of the last 36 years and the constitutional change makes it possible for the 71-year-old to win a further five-year mandate at an election due next year.

More than 92 percent of voters in Sunday’s referendum supported the change and turnout stood at 72 percent of the more than 1.8 million registered voters, according to figures from the electoral commission.

More than 1.2 million people voted in favour of the change, while around 102,000 rejected it, the commission said.

The turnout figure was immediately disputed by the opposition, which had called for a boycott of the referendum.

Sassou Nguesso ruled the Central African country from 1979 until 1992, when he was defeated in a presidential election. His rule resumed five years later after his forces defeated the then-president in a brief civil war.

He is the latest African president to try to prolong his grip on power by changing the constitution. Several such initiatives have provoked violence, and four died in Congo last week when security forces opened fire on protesters.

Last October, Burkina Faso’s leader of 27 years was toppled by protests and the president of Burundi won a third term in July amid violent protests. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have also sought constitutional change.