Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


       General Urges 'Civil Disobedience' After Congo's Disputed Election

   by Dan Joseph

   An army general in the Republic of Congo is calling for a public
   campaign of "civil disobedience" to reject the official declaration
   that President Denis Sassou Nguesso has won re-election, despite
   opposition claims that the vote was marked by "massive fraud."

   [1]General Jean-Marie Mokoko spoke to VOA's French to Africa Service
   Thursday after Congo's interior minister announced in Brazzaville that
   Sassou Nguesso won over 60 percent of the vote in Sunday's election,
   and thus no second-round ballot would be necessary.

   In a telephone interview, Mokoko called on Congo's people "to refuse
   the victory taken by Sassou."

   "We are not calling for war," the general said. "We are calling for
   civil disobedience."

   Mokoko added: "We don't have guns. It is Sassou who has guns to scare
   people, and we must stop being scared."

   The general also was a candidate in the election - finishing third,
   according to voting results released early Thursday. In an audio
   statement posted on YouTube, he said polling station results collected
   by the opposition show it was "impossible" for Sassou Nguesso to have
   won re-election outright in a first round of voting.

   The opposition has yet to release its own vote tallies.

   Results released Thursday, which must be validated by Congo's
   constitutional court, said Mokoko won 14 percent of the vote, just
   behind the runner-up candidate, Guy-Brice Parfair Kolelas, who had 15
   percent.

   ''Interior Minister Raymond Zephyrin Mboulou, announced the election
   results on national television at 3:30 a.m. Until Thursday, all
   telephone and internet service in Congo had been shut down sionce the
   election on Sunday. Mboulou said the measure was needed for security
   reasons.

   The election followed a voter referendum last October that removed age
   and term limits that would have prevented the 72-year-old Sassou
   Nguesso from seeking re-election. Critics of the the poll accused the
   president of a "constitutional coup."

   Sassou Nguesso initially served as Congo's president from 1979 to
   1992.  After losing an election, he returned to power during a 1997
   civil war and won re-election in disputed polls in 2002 and 2009.

   ^VOA's Idriss Fall contributed to this report.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/general-urges-civil-disobedience-afte
   r-congo-disputed-election/3252832.html

References

   1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQUPDGXnhZk
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/general-urges-civil-disobedience-after-congo-disputed-election/3252832.html