Six opposition candidates in Congo Brazzaville are nursing an ambition to knock incumbent president Denis Sassou-Nguesso from his seemingly impregnable seat in Sunday’s presidential poll.
On the face of it, the balance of power is disproportionate.
The scale seems tipped on the side of the incumbent Denis Sassou Nguesso.
On February 17, the Constitutional Court of Congo validated seven candidacies, including that of the outgoing head of state.
Aged 77, the former parachute officer is seeking a fourth term after having accumulated 36 years at the helm of the Central African country.
Nicknamed “The Emperor” by some of his peers in Africa, notably Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea’s Alpha Conde, he is considered by several observers as the overwhelming favourite to win the upcoming election.
Already president of the People’s Republic from 1979 to 1992, Sassou Nguesso lost to Pascal Lissouba the first pluralist election organized in Congo in 1992.
Lissouba was later ousted after a bloody civil war in 1997.
Since 2002, Sassou Nguesso has won every election, even though the 2016 poll was the most hotly contested.
The episcopate recently said it was “worried” about the transparency of the March 21 presidential election.
However, some opposition leaders still believe in the chance for regime change.
Among them is Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, 61.
Ranked second in the 2016 presidential election, this retired economist and senior official is considered the president’s main contender.
Earlier this month, he accused the authorities of preventing him from campaigning.
Comebacks
Denis Sassou Nguesso will also have to face his former Minister of Finance (1997-2002), 74-year old Mathias Dzon.
Chosen by the Alliance for the Republic and Democracy (ARD), he is the first candidate to officially stand for this presidential election after boycotting the one held in 2016.
A candidate for the first time in 2009, he cited “the best interests of the endangered homeland” to explain his comeback.
“The economy, public finance and relations with creditors are badly managed,” he told his supporters.
Nguesso, the leader of the ruling Congolese Labor Party (PCT) will also take on MP Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou, 68, who is trying his luck for the fourth time, although he fear an unfair advantage for the incumbent.
Former army officer Albert Oniangue, 66, will also be among those who will seek the popular will of the Congolese people.
This evangelical pastor was aide-de-camp to Sassou Nguesso.
Today, he wants to save a country that is going through “a collective shipwreck.”
An independent candidate, Mr. Oniangue decried “the poverty” of his fellow citizens who lead “a life of misery.”
After his failure in 2009, Anguios Nganguia Engambe will be in the starting blocks.
The former Customs Inspector proclaims himself a “candidate of new ideas” and promises, if elected, to appoint a woman as Prime Minister.
After 32 years in public administration, he turned to business before landing in politics.
As the leader of the Party for the Action of the Republic (PAR), he is known to be close to the regime.
The youngest candidate for this presidential election is Dave Uphrem Mafoula.
Aged just 39 years, he is being backed by the ‘Souverainistes’ Party.
To his compatriots, this neophyte offers a program encapsulated under the so-called “Presidential Contract”.
The aim is to “break with old management practices.”
Dave Uphrem Mafoula plans to implement it within 180 days of his election to the highest office in Congo.
Around 2.5 million Congolese have been registered to vote in next Sunday’s elections.
The turnout will be the big challenge of this election as the Congolese population remains severely affected by the new coronavirus and the economic crisis following the fall in the price of oil, Congo’s main source of income.
ODL/id/fss/as/APA