Presidential candidate dies from Covid-19 on poll day

The leading opposition presidential candidate in Congo-Brazzaville, who was seriously ill with Covid-19, has died hours after polls closed.

Guy-Brice Parfait Kolélas died on a plane that was taking him to France for treatment, his campaign director said.

Hours earlier, the 61-year-old had appeared in a video shared on social media, where he removed his oxygen mask and told his supporters that he was “fighting death”.

He urged them to vote in Sunday’s poll.

The electoral law doesn’t annul the election if one of the candidates dies.

Mr Kolélas, who was diabetic, was one of six candidates running against President Denis Sassou Nguesso, 77, who has been in power since 1979, except for a five-year period after losing elections in 1992.

Congo-Brazzavile has officially recorded more than 9,000 cases of Covid-19 and 130 deaths.

The country has imposed a night-time curfew in the two main cities of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire and closed its borders due to the pandemic.

However, campaign rallies were allowed, with not much sign of people respecting social distancing or wearing masks.

Mr Kolélas had missed his final campaign event on Friday after saying a day earlier that he feared he had malaria, the Associated Press news agency reports.

He was admitted to a private hospital in the capital, Brazzaville, and it was later confirmed that he had Covid-19.

Speaking in French from his hospital bed, Mr Kolélas said: “My dear compatriots, I am in trouble. I am fighting death. However, I ask you to stand up and vote for change. I would have fought for nothing.

“Rise up as one person… I’m fighting on my deathbed, you too fight for your change,” he urged his supporters, saying the election was “about the future of your children.”

The head of the government’s Covid-19 response team, Elira Dokekias, said that Mr Kolélas’ condition had been serious on Saturday, the Associated Press reports.

After casting his ballot in the capital, Sassou Nguesso had wished the former fisheries minister and son of former Prime Minister Benard Kolélas, a swift recovery.

A large crowd gathered on Sunday to catch a glimpse of the president, with many people not wearing masks and failing to adhere to social distancing rules.

Mr Nguessou beat Mr Kolélas in the last election in 2016, obtaining 60% of the votes compared with his rival’s 15%.

The watchdog group NetBlocks reported that the internet had been shut down ahead of Sunday’s voting.

The largest opposition party, the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy, is boycotting the election, saying it fears the poll could divide the nation.

Congo-Brazzaville’s Catholic Church episcopal conference has said it has “serious reservations” about the election’s transparency.