"It is impossible that the candidate-president could claim a
victory, even taking into account only the partial results," the
coalition said in a statement.
Congo
Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso attends the closing rally of his
electoral campaign ahead of Sunday's presidential election, in
Brazzaville March 18, 2016. Picture taken March 18.
Opposition candidates in elections in Congo Republic said on Wednesday that President Denis Sassou Nguesso placed no better than fourth in any major district, rejecting official partial results that gave him a commanding lead.
Results
of Sunday's ballot announced by the country's electoral commission on
Tuesday, and based on returns from 72 of 111 voting districts, showed
Sassou Nguesso with 67 percent of the vote .
Charles Zacharie Bowao,
the head of a coalition of five opposition candidates, posted its
summary of preliminary results -- showing Sassou Nguesso trailing others
-- on his Twitter account.
It said this was based
on results collected from regions representing more than 75 percent of
the electorate, though no exact vote totals were provided.
"It is impossible that the candidate-president could claim a victory, even taking into account only the partial results," the coalition said in a statement.
Bowao
did not say which of the opposition candidates the summary placed in
the lead, or how it was compiled. The opposition previously said it had
deployed observers to all polling stations to tally votes.
Sassou
Nguesso, who has ruled the oil-producing country for 32 of the last 37
years, must win an outright majority against eight opponents in all to
avoid a run-off.
The government says the
opposition's publication of its own results is illegal and has imposed a
blackout on internet and mobile phone communications since Sunday that
it says will help prevent unofficial results circulating and creating
unrest.
The U.S. State Department said that it had "received numerous reports of irregularities that have raised concerns about the credibility of the process", urging authorities in a statement to restore communications.
Final
results from the electoral commission are expected as early as
Wednesday afternoon amid heightened tensions in southern Brazzaville, an
opposition stronghold.
Police fired tear gas on
Wednesday morning to disperse opposition supporters who had gathered
outside one candidate's campaign headquarters to await the results,
witnesses said.
There was a also a heavy police
and military presence in the economic hub Pointe Noire, where the
opposition is well-supported, a resident told Reuters.
At
least 18 people were killed by security forces in protests ahead of a
referendum in October that removed term and age limits that would have
prevented Sassou Nguesso from running again.
Congo's
election is being watched closely across Africa, where several
long-ruling presidents are trying to remove constitutionally mandated
term limits to stay in power.
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