‘Emperor’ Sassou seeks to extend long rule in Congo Republic

Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso is set to prolong his over three-decade-long rule in an election on Sunday in which he has pledged to revive the flagging economy.

Sassou, a 77-year old former paratrooper, rose to power in the oil-producing country on the western coast of central Africa in a military coup in 1979.

He lost Congo’s first multi-party elections in 1992, but regained power in 1997 after a civil war and has now ruled for a combined total of almost 37 years.

Sassou will face six opposition candidates in an election whose run-up has been tightly controlled by his government and which has drawn criticism from the influential Catholic Church and rights activists.

Known as “emperor” by some of his African peers because of his longevity and role as a regional elder statesman, Sassou has said he will use all his experience to revive the debt-ridden economy if he wins another five years in power.

Final rally

At a final rally in the capital Brazzaville on Friday, a life-size photo of Sassou on a throne was carried through the crowd like a sedan chair.

His supporters sang, danced and waved flags with his face on, but at a point, his speech was interrupted by chants from the crowd of “curfew”, a demand to end an unpopular pandemic-linked curfew.

Covid-19 impact

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 8% last year due to the impact of Covid-19 and a collapse in world oil prices, and GDP is expected to grow by less than 1% this year in the country of 5.4 million.

Sassou’s main challenger is Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, a former government minister who was second in the last disputed election in 2016 with 15% of votes.

The candidates who came third and fifth were later arrested and convicted of illegally possessing weapons.

Edited by Olajumoke Adeleke