African presidents who won elections by over 85% of votes: Kagame, Sassou et al.

Elections have become fairly routine across Africa with incumbents seeking to be retained whiles opposition works hard to dislodge them.

Averagely, Africa records about half dozen elections year-on-year. A number of referendums have also been held to alter especially term limits to allow longserving leaders to continue in office.

Whiles in some countries the poll outcomes are neck to neck, in other countries landslides have resulted with 80% plus victory.

GhanaWeb looks back at African leaders who have won electoral landslides in the last few years.

Denis Sassou Nguesso of Republic of Congo

The most recent is in the Republic of Congo where President Denis Sassou Nguesso was earlier this week re-elected with more than 88% of the vote, according to official results.

The outcome means he gets to extend his 36 years as leader of the Central African oil producer despite a prolonged economic crisis.

His closest rival, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, who died hours after the polls closed, received less than 8%. Kolelas was being evacuated to France to be treated for COVID-19 when he died.

Paul Kagame of Rwanda

In August 2017, Rwandan president Paul Kagame won a landslide victory in presidential election to secure a third term in office and to extend his 17 years in power.

Final results showed the 59-year-old former guerrilla leader had secured 98.63 percent of Friday’s vote, according to a final tally released by the National Electoral Commission on Saturday.

The board said turnout topped 96.42 percent in the country of 12 million people, in an election that fielded only a single opposition candidate, Frank Habineza, and an independent.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea

In 2016, Africa’s longest serving leader, Teodoro Obiang Nguema won re-election in a vote that he was largely expected to win.

Official reports from the election body showed that he polled 93.7 per cent of the vote. His nearest challengers received 1.5 per cent each.

The victory was however a small decline from 2009 elections where he amassed a hefty 95.37% of votes.

Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti

Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh in 2016 recorded a landslide win in an election boycotted by some opposition parties in the tiny but strategic Horn of Africa nation.

Guelleh won 86.68 percent of ballots, according to the interior ministry. Activists and watchers said the process was marred by repressive tactics and other instances of clampdown.

The closest opposition candidate won just over seven percent of the vote in a race where some 187,000 people -- around a fourth of the population -- were eligible to cast a ballot.

"The people of Djibouti have again entrusted me with the state's highest office," Guelleh, aid in a speech on national TV before adding: "I have understood their hopes and will get back to work tomorrow."

Alassane Ouattara's expected landslide

Ivory Coast's electoral commission officially announced in November 2020 that President Alassane Ouattara had overwhelmingly won a third term in office with over 94% of the votes.

But the big win was expected after his two main opponents boycotted the election over claims his candidacy is illegal.

According to election officials, turnout was 53.9%, but the opposition maintains only 10% of Ivorian voters took part.

Nevertheless, President Ouattara was confirmed by the Constitutional Court and he took office. He reversed a decision to step down after the presidential party RHDP lost its candidate in the person of Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly earlier in the year.