Two of the country\u2019s best\u2011known opposition leaders remain in prison, while others are in exile. Several opposition parties are boycotting the vote, \u200bsaying the process lacks credibility.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Polls are expected to open at 08h00 CAT. More than 3.2 million Congolese \u2060are registered to vote, although analysts and civil society groups expect turnout to fall \u200bbelow the nearly 68% recorded in 2021, when Sassou won with 88.4% of the \u200bvote.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sassou seized power in the oil\u2011producing Central African nation in 1979 and has governed almost continuously since, except for a five-year hiatus in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He is running against six little-known candidates, none seen as \u200bserious challengers, with electoral bodies dominated by figures aligned with the ruling Congolese Labour \u200bParty.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opposition is fragmented and lacks a strong, emblematic figure,\u201d said Remadji Hoinathy of the Pretoria-based \u200cInstitute \u2060for Security Studies. \u201cThere may be fatigue among voters, but that will not affect Sassou\u2019s chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rights groups say the political space has narrowed in recent years, citing arrests of activists and suspensions of parties. Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso has dismissed accusations of pro-Sassou bias, arguing \u200bthat Congo’s oversight bodies \u200bwill ensure a \u2060transparent and fair election.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some Congolese say they see little chance for change. “It’s an election whose outcome is known in advance,\u201d said Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric \u200bNkou, an unemployed resident of Brazzaville. \u201cI don\u2019t expect things to \u200bimprove.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sassou has \u2060campaigned on continuity, pledging to accelerate development projects and expand access to education and professional training.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–Reuters–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":28802,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-28801","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Congo Republic votes on Sunday in a Presidential election \u200bwidely expected to extend 82-year-old Denis Sassou Nguesso's decades-long rule by another \u200cfive years, with limited active opposition and little uncertainty about the result.","published_date":"","news_description":"Congo Republic votes on Sunday in a Presidential election \u200bwidely expected to extend 82-year-old Denis Sassou Nguesso's decades-long rule by another \u200cfive years, with limited active opposition and little uncertainty about the result.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28803,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28801\/revisions\/28803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=28801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}