Denis Sassou Nguesso held his final campaign rally on Friday in the capital, Brazzaville, ahead of Sunday’s presidential election, as supporters gathered to cheer the veteran leader seeking to extend his decades-long rule.
At 82 and with more than 40 years in power, Sassou Nguesso is widely viewed as the clear favourite in the vote in Republic of the Congo.
Sassou Nguesso ranks among Africa’s longest-serving leaders, alongside Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and Paul Biya of Cameroon.
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A former career military officer, Sassou Nguesso first ruled the country under a one-party system from 1979 to 1992 before losing the first multiparty election to former prime minister Pascal Lissouba. He returned to power after overthrowing Lissouba during a civil war in 1997.
Since then, he has governed with a firm grip on power. Constitutional reforms that removed age limits and term restrictions have enabled him to extend his rule through successive elections despite recurring corruption allegations.
Six candidates are officially contesting the presidency, but few possess the financial or political backing to seriously challenge the ruling Congolese Labour Party (PCT).
Opposition forces have struggled to unite behind a single challenger. Two of the main opposition parties have opted not to field candidates, arguing that conditions for a free and transparent election have not been met and urging supporters to vote “according to their conscience.”
“Denis Sassou Nguesso controls the entire electoral process,” said opposition figure Clément Mierassa, a former minister and presidential candidate, who claimed that those running against the incumbent were merely placeholders.
Meanwhile, two prominent challengers from the disputed 2016 election – Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and André Okombi Salissa – remain in prison, serving 20-year sentences for “endangering state security.”
Africanews