Election day for the presidential election in Congo-Brazzaville, Sassou Nguesso is the clear favorite

Voters are going to the polls on Sunday for the presidential election in Congo-Brazzaville where the victory of Denis Sassou Nguesso, 82 years old and with 40 cumulative years in power, seems assured but where abstention could be massive.

Mr. Sassou Nguesso ruled this oil-rich Central African country from 1979 to 1992, during the one-party era, before regaining power by force in 1997, after four months of civil war in Brazzaville.

He was re-elected in the first round in 2021 with 88.40% of the votes, according to the Constitutional Court, and despite appeals from his opponents.

Only six candidates, little known or without a real political base, are running against Denis Sassou Nguesso on Sunday, with little chance of preventing his re-election for a new five-year term in the first round.

The main opposition parties have announced they will boycott the election, deeming the conditions for a free and fair vote unmet. Observers say the election is threatened by high abstention rates.

Mr. Sassou Nguesso crisscrossed the country during the election campaign which ended on Friday, supported by the machinery of his movement, the Congolese Labour Party (PCT), and urging the 2.5 million registered voters to go to the polls for this two-round single-member election.

Polling stations will open at 7:00 AM (6:00 AM GMT) and close at 6:00 PM (5:00 PM GMT). A second round, the date of which has not been officially announced, is theoretically scheduled for 21 days after the publication of the first round results.

- Corruption -

"Security, security, security," the president hammered home during his last rally in Brazzaville on Friday, which was attended by thousands of people without much enthusiasm.

Mr. Sassou Nguesso deserves credit for having brought some stability back to a country marked by civil war and a region plagued by conflict.

NGOs and civil society regularly denounce attacks on public freedoms and threats against opponents. The opposition systematically contests the elections won by Mr. Sassou Nguesso since 2002.

Two figures from the opposition to the 2016 presidential election, General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and André Okombi Salissa, are still being held today after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for "undermining internal security" in 2018 and 2019.

During his campaign, the president highlighted his economic record, particularly the modernization of infrastructure and the development of the gas and agricultural sectors so that Congo could become self-sufficient.

Oil and gas provide the vast majority of state revenue and drive growth, estimated at 2.9% in 2025. But almost half the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

Critics of the regime argue that the country's development has been hampered by massive embezzlement of public funds and oil revenues at the highest levels of government.

The president's family has also been the subject of several investigations and complaints for embezzlement, notably in France, in the so-called "ill-gotten gains" case.

Mr. Sassou Nguesso promised on Friday to "moralize public life" by making "examples" and digitizing public finances.

- Preparing for the "post-Sassou" era -

A former French colony, independent since 1960, Congo-Brazzaville maintains close ties with Paris, but also with Russia, which was an ally of the regime during the Soviet-inspired single-party era, between 1968 and 1992.

Mr. Sassou Nguesso's re-election seems assured, but the constitution in principle prevents him from running for another term in 2031, raising the inevitable question of his succession.

He told AFP that he would "not remain in power forever" and that the "turn" of the young would "come", while refusing to comment on a possible successor.

Several names from his entourage are sometimes mentioned: his son Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, Minister of International Cooperation, his special advisor Jean-Dominique Okemba, or Jean-Jacques Bouya, Minister of Territorial Development and Major Works.

"When you are a serious opponent, you have to prepare for the post-Sassou era, where the regime will be weak and the demand will be high. As things stand, there is no hope," says analyst and independent journalist Alphonse Ndongo.