Access to the internet and social media was cut hours before polls opened at 7 am, AFP reports.
The Republic of Congo voted on Sunday in an election boycotted by the main opposition, under an internet blackout as incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso pursues a fourth term in office.
Access to the internet and social media was cut hours before polls opened at 7 am, AFP reports.
However, telephone communications were still available on Sunday.
The 77-year-old Nguesso is widely expected to win against six contenders, led by economist Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who revealed on Saturday that he is gravely ill with COVID-19.
Congo’s Catholic Church episcopal conference has expressed “serious reservations” about the ballot’s transparency and had said Sunday that it feared an internet shutdown.
About 50 organisations, including Internet Without Borders, had last week appealed to the president to “keep the internet open, accessible and safe during the whole of the 2021 presidential election period”.
Nguesso first rose to power in 1979 and has since accumulated 36 years in office, making him one of the world’s longest-serving leaders.
Speaking after he cast his vote, Sassou Nguesso said that the “atmosphere of peace” during the election campaign — marked by police crackdowns on the opposition — was “a good sign for our democracy”.
Nguesso also confirmed that a medical plane had arrived in capital Brazzaville that could bring his opponent Kolelas to Paris for treatment on election day, wishing him “get well soon”.
Kolelas had posted a video message Saturday from his sickbed, declaring he was “battling against death” after taking off a respiratory mask.
“Rise as one person… I’m fighting on my deathbed, you too fight for your change,” he urged supporters, saying the election was “about the future of your children” before replacing his mask.
Kolelas tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, and is to be transferred to France on Sunday for treatment, his campaign manager Cyr Mayanda said.
The runner-up in 2016’s presidential election, Kolelas is the only major candidate remaining to face Nguesso.
The largest opposition group, the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy or UPADS, is boycotting the poll.
After first coming to power in 1979, Sassou Nguesso was forced to introduce multi-party elections in 1991 and was defeated at the ballot box a year later.
But he returned to power in 1997 following a prolonged civil war.