BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — The Republic of Congo ’s President Denis Sassou N’Guesso, who has ruled for 42 years, was reelected for a fifth consecutive term, according to provisional results announced Tuesday by authorities.
Sassou N’Guesso won 94,82% of the vote, Interior Minister Raymond Zephirin Mboulou said on state television.
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Voters check for their names at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vivace Mambouana)
A voter cast his ballot at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vivace Mambouana)
An election official check for the name of a voter in a register at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vivace Mambouana)
President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou N'Guesso casts his ballot at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vivace Mambouana)
FILE - President of Congo Denis Sassou N'Guesso looks on during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 23, 2025. Thomas Samson/ Pool Photo via AP, FILE)
Six other candidates challenged the 82-year-old for the top job in the Central African country that boasts one of the largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa.
The internet was shut down across the country as usual during the presidential election and traffic was restricted across the capital.
The election is the latest in a trend of octogenarian African leaders clinging to power. Sassou N’Guesso is the third-longest-serving African president, only behind Cameroon ’s Paul Biya and Equatorial Guinea ’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
The interior minister reported a turnout of 84.65% and 2.6 million ballots cast. But many polling stations in the capital Brazzaville saw short or non-existent lines, as locals said they did not believe the election would result in a change in leadership from Sassou N’Guesso, who has ruled for 42 years.
Mabio Mavoungou Zinga of the Alliance party came in second with 1.48% of votes, closely followed by independent candidate Uphrem Dave Mafoula who received 1.03% of the vote, according to the provisional results. The other four candidates got less than 1% of the vote.
The provisional results still have to be approved by the constitutional Court.
“By reelecting me by a landslide, the people have kept their word. Now it is up to us to keep ours. We promise to commit ourselves fully to doing everything possible," Sassou N’Guesso told reporters at his party’s headquarters. He said the high turnout reflected the population's “civic-mindedness” and “patriotism.”
Sassou N’Guesso, running for the Congolese Party of Labor, first came to power in 1979 and ruled until 1992 when he organized the country’s first multi-party elections. He returned to power as a militia leader following a four-month civil war in 1997.
The campaign period showed a vast mismatch between Sassou N’Guesso and his opponents, with the incumbent being the only candidate to travel around the country to canvass for votes. Roads in the capital city, Brazzaville, were paved with Sassou N’Guesso’s effigies.
Two other major parties boycotted the elections over allegations of unfair electoral practices.
A constitutional referendum in 2015 removed presidential age and term limits, allowing him to run again.
The country is struggling with high international debt, which stands at 94.5% of its gross domestic product, according to the World Bank, and skyrocketing unemployment rates for young people. More than half the country’s 5.7 million population lives in poverty and 47% of the country’s population is under 18.
In Brazzaville, the president's reelection did not surprise most residents.
“Everyone knew he would be reelected against candidates who were no match for him. The blame lies with the manipulated opposition, which failed to field a single candidate, thus leaving the field open to the presidential camp,” said Jean Baptiste Mahoukou, a taxi driver.
“Like many of my friends I didn’t vote simply because everything was rigged to ensure that President Denis Sassou N’Guesso continues to govern us," said Christian Sondou, 52, a carpenter. "Having been in power for over 40 years, Denis Sassou N’Guesso has failed to lift the country out of poverty. He should have stepped down and handed power over to the young people.”
“There’s no need to lament, we must be patient as he won’t be around forever,” said Elise Sonia, a vendor at the Makelekele market. “Nature will take care of this generation that clings to power without making the slightest effort to build and develop the country."
This story has been corrected to spell Sassou N'Guesso's first name as Denis, not Dennis.
Voters check for their names at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vivace Mambouana)
A voter cast his ballot at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vivace Mambouana)
An election official check for the name of a voter in a register at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vivace Mambouana)
President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou N'Guesso casts his ballot at a polling station in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vivace Mambouana)
FILE - President of Congo Denis Sassou N'Guesso looks on during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 23, 2025. Thomas Samson/ Pool Photo via AP, FILE)
PARIS (AP) — Activists worldwide gathered for May Day rallies and street protests Friday, calling for peace, higher wages and better working conditions as many workers grapple with rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing power tied to the Iran war.
May 1 is a public holiday in many countries to mark International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day, when workers’ unions traditionally rally around wages, pensions, inequality and broader political issues. Demonstrations were being held from Seoul, Sydney and Jakarta to many European capitals and cities across the United States.
“Working people refuse to pay the price for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East,” the European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 93 trade union organizations in 41 European countries, said. “Today’s rallies show working people will not stand by and see their jobs and living standards destroyed.”
In the United States, activists opposing U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies are planning marches and boycotts.
Here’s what to know about May Day.
Rising living costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East emerged as a key theme in Friday's rallies.
In the Philippines' capital of Manila, large crowds marched to call for higher wages and lower taxes as protesters denounced the United States' role in the Iran war. Some held banners reading “no troops, no bases, no war games, resist U.S.-led wars.” Protesters clashed with police blocking the way near the U.S. Embassy.
“Every Filipino worker now is aware that the situation here is deeply connected to the global crisis,” said Josua Mata, leader of SENTRO umbrella group of labor federations.
In Indonesia, President Prabowo Subianto joined a May Day rally in the capital, Jakarta, greeting tens of thousands of people amid a tight police and military presence. Workers called for stronger government protection amid rising prices and difficulties in finding raw materials for their industry.
In Pakistan, May Day is a public holiday marked by rallies, but many daily wage earners cannot afford to take time off.
“How will I bring vegetables and other necessities home if I don’t work?” said Mohammad Maskeen, a 55-year-old construction worker near Islamabad.
Rising oil prices have fueled inflation, which the government estimates at about 16%, in a country heavily reliant on financial support from the International Monetary Fund and allied nations.
In Istanbul, police detained some 15 protesters who tried to reach Taksim Square, the epicenter of landmark 2013 protests, in defiance of a government ban.
Turkey's government has long declared the square off-limits for demonstrations on security grounds, but some political parties and trade unions have vowed to march there.
In France, unions called for demonstrations in Paris and elsewhere under the slogan “bread, peace and freedom,” linking workers’ daily concerns to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
In Italy, the government approved nearly 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) in job incentives this week, aiming to promote stable employment and curb labor abuses ahead of May Day. The measures extend tax breaks to encourage hiring young people and disadvantaged women, and seek to address exploitation tied to platform-based work. Opposition parties dismissed the package as “pure propaganda.”
In Portugal, proposed labor law changes by the center-right government sparked a general strike and street protests last year. There is still no deal after nine months of negotiations with unions and employers. Unions say the proposals would weaken workers’ rights, including by expanding overtime limits and reducing some benefits.
May Day carries special meaning this year in France after a heated debate about whether employees should be allowed to work on the country’s most protected public holiday — the only day when most employees have a mandatory paid day off.
Almost all businesses, shops and malls are closed, and only essential sectors such as hospitals, transport and hotels are exempt.
A recent parliamentary proposal to expand work on the day prompted major outcry from unions and left-leaning politicians.
“Don’t touch May Day,” workers' unions said in a joint statement.
Faced with the controversy, the government this week introduced a bill meant to expand May Day work to people staffing bakeries and florists. It is customary in France to give lily of the valley flowers on May Day as a symbol of good luck.
“May 1 is not just any day,” Small and Medium-sized Businesses Minister Serge Papin said. “It symbolizes social gains stemming from a century of building social rules that have led to the labor code we know in France. It is indeed a special day.”
Activists and labor unions are organizing street protests and boycotts across the United States, where May Day is not a federal holiday.
May Day Strong, a coalition of activist groups and labor unions, has called on people to protest under the banner of “workers over billionaires.”
Voicing strong opposition to Trump's policies, organizers listed thousands of May Day actions across the country and are seeking an economic blackout through “no school, no work, no shopping.”
Demands include taxing the rich and putting an end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown,
While labor and immigrant rights are historically intertwined, the focus of May Day rallies in the U.S. shifted to immigration in 2006. That’s when roughly 1 million people, including nearly half a million in Chicago alone, took to the streets to protest federal legislation that would’ve made living in the U.S. without legal permission a felony.
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, traces back more than a century to a pivotal period in U.S. labor history.
In the 1880s, unions pushed for an eight-hour workday through strikes and demonstrations. In May 1886, a Chicago rally turned deadly when a bomb exploded and police responded with gunfire. Several labor activists — most of them immigrants — were convicted of conspiracy and other charges; four were executed.
Unions later designated May 1 to honor workers. A monument in Chicago’s Haymarket Square commemorates them with the inscription: “Dedicated to all workers of the world.”
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AP journalists Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Giada Zampano in Rome, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this story.
An union member is detained by a Turkish police officer as people try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions stage a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions stage a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Union members scuffle with Turkish police officers as they try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Union members carefully step through rain-formed puddles to participate in a May Day rally in the rain Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
People march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
FILE - Activist and workers raise their clenched fists during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
Laborers protest during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Laborers hold flares during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Members of trade unions take part in a rally a day ahead of the International Labor Day, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, April 30, 2026. The banner in center reading as 'red salute to the martyrs of Chicago and the struggle will continue until economic exploitation is ended' (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Members of trade unions take part in a rally a day ahead of the International Labor Day, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
