/
RSS Feed
The Republic of Congo has scheduled its next presidential election for March 15, government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla announced.
Under the Constitution, a presidential vote must be held no fewer than 30 days and no more than 40 days before the end of the incumbent’s term. President Denis Sassou-Nguesso was sworn in for his current term on April 16, 2021.
The electoral authority has yet to announce deadlines for the submission of candidacies. However, the ruling Congolese Labour Party (PCT) has already endorsed Sassou-Nguesso as its presidential candidate.
Among other potential contenders are former rebel leader Frédéric Bintsamou, known as Pastor Ntumi, and Dave Mafoula, the youngest candidate in the previous presidential election.
Sassou-Nguesso first came to power in 1979. He lost the country’s first multiparty presidential election in 1992 to Pascal Lissouba, marking a rare peaceful transfer of power in Central Africa at the time. That transition ended in 1997 when Sassou-Nguesso returned to office following a civil war that pitted his forces against those loyal to Lissouba.
In 2015, Sassou-Nguesso oversaw constitutional changes that removed the two-term presidential limit, allowing him to remain in power.
The Congolese government has also faced scrutiny abroad. Since 2017, associates of the president have been indicted in France as part of the so-called “ill-gotten gains” investigation, which alleges the laundering of public funds and also targets ruling families in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
