REPUBLIC OF CONGO PRESIDENT NGUESSO (82), ANNOUNCES BID FOR ANOTHER TERM
By Anele Dlamini
#SDN, 6 February 2026
BRAZAVILLE: President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) has confirmed he will seek re-election in presidential polls scheduled for March 15, extending a grip on power that has spanned more than four decades.
In a statement released by his office on Thursday, the 82-year-old leader said he would contest the vote, an announcement he also made publicly before thousands of supporters gathered in the southern district of Ignie.
Sassou Nguesso first came to power in 1979, ruling under a single-party system until 1992, when he lost the country’s first multiparty election to former prime minister Pascal Lissouba. He returned to office in 1997 after overthrowing Lissouba during a civil war and has remained president ever since..
His continued rule was enabled by a 2015 constitutional change that removed the two-term and age limit, allowing him to stand again. In December, his party, the Congolese Labour Party (PCT), formally endorsed him as its presidential candidate, describing him as the party’s “natural” choice.
The announcement comes as opposition forces seek to mount a stronger challenge, with three opposition parties forming an alliance aimed at unseating the long-serving leader in next year’s election.