The Republic of Congo pressed ahead with its presidential election on Sunday after the main challenger to longtime leader Denis Sassou N'guesso was flown to France to get treatment for COVID-19.

Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and posted a video message from his sickbed the next day.  

"My dear compatriots, I am in trouble. I am fighting death," he said in a weak-sounding voice after removing his oxygen mask. "However, I ask you to stand up and vote for change. I would not have fought for nothing."

A medical evacuation flight left Brazzaville for Paris on Sunday afternoon, health officials said.

Kolelas won 15% of the vote during the 2016 presidential election and has been particularly critical of the incumbent in recent days, declaring that Congo has become "a police state.''

His campaign posters asked voters to help him deliver a "knockout blow," or a first-round win so that no runoff would be required.

President set to retain power

Even so, Sassou N'Guesso is widely expected to extend his 36 years in power, despite an economic crisis in the Central African nation. Though the country is a significant oil producer, 41% of the 5.4 million citizens live below the global poverty line, according to the World Bank, and extreme poverty has increased since the election in 2016. The economy has deteriorated as oil prices have fallen in recent years.

"I am very satisfied because, across the country, I have seen people mobilized and ready to participate in the electoral process," the president said after voting on Sunday, adding that he wished Kolelas a swift recovery.

Sassou N'Guesso is the third-longest-serving president in Africa, ruling from 1979-1992 and then again since 1997 in this nation often overshadowed by its vast neighbor the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Internet cut ahead of vote

The global watchdog group NetBlocks reported an internet blackout that began around midnight on election day.

The news agency AFP reported that online access, including social media, was cut. Text messages were also reportedly blocked.

Last week, about 50 organizations, including Internet Without Borders, eek appealed to the president to "keep the internet open, accessible and safe during the whole of the 2021 presidential election period."

Results are expected to be published within four days. If none of the seven candidates secures more than 50% of votes, the two top candidates would face off in a second round of voting in April.

mm/dj (AFP, AP, Reuters)