POINTE-NOIRE: Congo-Brazzaville’s 82-year-old President Denis Sassou Nguesso promised to extend his decades-long time in power on Saturday as campaigning kicked off for the upcoming presidential election in the oil-rich central African nation.
Thousands of supporters turned out to watch Sassou Nguesso parade in an open-topped convertible at a rally held by the president’s Congolese Labour Party in the country’s economic and oil capital Pointe-Noire, on the Atlantic coast.
Campaigning will end on March 13, with the first round of voting on March 15.
Six opposition candidates have formally confirmed they will be standing, including first-time 34-year-old candidate Destin Gavin, from the Republican Movement.
But the fragmented and muzzled opposition stands little chance of winning, with the ruling party promising a “wave” in favor of its “patriarch,” according to roadside campaign posters.
