Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
in August 1992, marking the end of the transitional period that began with the February–June 1991 National Conference. It was won by
Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020) was a Congolese politician who was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by his pred ...
of the
Pan-African Union for Social Democracy
The Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (, UPADS) is a political party in the Republic of the Congo headed by Pascal Lissouba, who was President from 1992 to 1997. It has been the country's main opposition party since Lissouba's ouster in 199 ...
(UPADS), who defeated
Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Bakana Kolélas (12 June 1933Alain Kounzilat, , Kimpwanza (planeteafrique.com) . – 13 November 2009Thierry Noungou"Parlement - Bernard Bakana Kolélas décédé ce 13 novembre à Paris", ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 13 November ...
of the
Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development
The Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (; MCDDI) is a Liberalism, liberal political party in the Republic of the Congo, led by Bernard Kolélas until his death in 2009. His son, Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas, has led the party ...
(MCDDI) in a second round of voting.
In the first round, held on 8 August, Lissouba, who had served as Prime Minister in the 1960s, placed first with 36% of the vote, outperforming Kolélas, an opposition figure since the 1960s, who won 20%, and
Denis Sassou-Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He also previously served as president from 1979 to 1992.
Sassou Nguesso hea ...
of the former ruling party, the Congolese Labor Party (PCT), who won 17%. Sassou-Nguesso had been President since 1979 but only in a ceremonial capacity since the National Conference. Prime Minister
André Milongo
André Ntsatouabantou Milongo (20 October 1935 , lechoc.info . – 23 July 2007) was a
< ...
, who led the country during the transition but whose government had lost its responsibility for organizing the election after the local election of May 1992 proved controversial, ran as an independent candidate and placed fourth with 10%. Two former leading figures of the PCT,
Joachim Yhombi-Opango
Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango (12 January 1939 – 30 March 2020) was a Congolese politician. He was an army officer who became Congo-Brazzaville's first general and served as Head of State of the People's Republic of the Congo from 1977 to 197 ...
of the Rally for Democracy and Development (RDD), placed fifth and sixth with 6% and 3% respectively.
In the first round, Lissouba enjoyed overwhelming support in the three regions collectively known as Nibolek—
Niari
Niari are a caste in Odisha. They are similar to the Dewar caste, and belong to the Sebc category.
History
The Niari have a history of being unemployed and poor, and alongside a few other castes, mostly adopted the profession of preparing fla ...
(88.7%),
Bouenza
Bouenza (can also be written as ''Buenza'' or ''Bwenza'') is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southern part of the country. It borders the departments of Lékoumou, Niari, and Pool, and internationally, the Democratic Republic o ...
(80.6%), and Lékoumou (91.7%). Kolélas won a first round majority only in the
Pool Region
Pool () is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza, Lékoumou, and Plateaux. Internationally, it borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also surrounds t ...
(64.4%), although he also won a plurality in
Brazzaville
Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
, the capital (29.9%). Sassou-Nguesso dominated the north, winning first round majorities in Plateaux (57.6%) and Likouala (58.5%) and pluralities in
Cuvette
In laboratories, a cuvette () is a small tube-like container with straight sides and a circular or square cross-section. It is sealed at one end, and made of a clear, transparent material such as plastic, glass, or fused quartz. Cuvettes are des ...
(47.9%) and
Sangha
Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...
(41.9%). Tchicaya and Yhombi-Opango made strong showings in certain regions—the former won 28% of the vote (behind Lissouba's 40%) in
Kouilou Region
Kouilou ( ) is a department of the Republic of the Congo. Covering the country's coastline, it has an area of 13,650 square kilometres and at the start of 2023 it was home to about 97,362 people. The department borders Niari Department, the ...
, which includes
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire (; , with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 Constitution. B ...
, the country's second largest city, and the latter won 27% of the vote in Cuvette Region.John F. Clark, "Congo: Transition and the Struggle to Consolidate", in ''Political Reform in Francophone Africa'' (1997), ed. John F. Clark and David E. Gardinier, pages 70–71.
With Sassou-Nguesso's support, Lissouba defeated Kolélas in the second round with 61% of the vote. Lissouba won all regions in the second round except Brazzaville, Pool, and Kouilou.
Results
The official number of valid votes cast in the first round was reported to be 785,981, 1,900 higher than the total of votes received by each candidate. Voter turnout was reported to be 59.6% based on this figure.Elections in Congo-Brazzaville [Republic of the Congo] African Elections Database