By Enyichukwu Enemanna
As Congo Republic goes to poll this Sunday, President Denis Sassou Nguesso appears ready to extend his four-decade rule despite his advanced age.
The 82-year-old former paratrooper first took power in the oil-rich Central African nation in a coup in 1979. He lost Congo Republic’s first multi-party elections in 1992 but seized power again in 1997 after a civil war.
He has now ruled for a combined total of almost 42 years, making him Africa’s third longest-serving leader, after Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang and Cameroon’s Paul Biya.
Sassou will face six candidates in a poll where the electoral body is dominated by figures appointed by his ruling Congolese Labour Party.
Two of the main opposition parties are boycotting the vote, alleging lack of transparency in the process. Several potential challengers are also in prison or in exile.
“This election is a mere formality. The real stakes lie in what comes next,” Remadji Hoinathy of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies think tank said.
A 2015 constitutional reform, adopted despite opposition protests, reset the presidential term limit and allowed Sassou to stay in power.
It also capped the President’s tenure at three five-year mandates. This implies that, this is his last election if further changes are not effected.
The President himself has begun speaking more openly about eventual succession, telling young supporters at his campaign opening rally on February 28 that his generation was “laying the groundwork” for them to take over.
One potential successor is his son, Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso, who entered government as Minister of International Cooperation and Public-Private Partnerships in 2021 and has since taken on a higher public profile.
Sassou’s campaign has focused on continuity. Five years ago, his slogan was “Let us continue the march towards development”. This year, it is “Let us accelerate the march”.
