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Президент

The current president is Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Congolese Party of Labor. In the elections held on March 21, 2021 he received 88,40% of the vote (1,539,725 ballots). The participation was at 67,17% of the population eligible to vote (1,776,786 out of 2,645,283) and the rest of the results were:

  1. The main opponent Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas of the Union of Humanist Democrats, was the preference of 7,96% of the electorate body (138,561).
  2. 1,97% of the ballots were invalid or blank
  3. 5 other candidates received a total of 1.70%

President Nguesso has led his people during two time periods. The first one was from 1979 to 1992 and from 1997 until today.

Нынешний президент Дени Сассу-Нгессо

Current President Denis Sassou Nguesso

Who is President Denis Sassou Nguesso

He was born on November 23 1943 to Julien Nguesso (a prominent hunter chief) and Émilienne Mouebara, at the small town of Edou, in the District of Oyo of the Cuvette Department and is a member of the Mbochi ethnic group. The early stages of his education were provided at Owando (at that time it was called Fort Rousset), while Dolisie Normal College provided his higher studies between 1956 and 1960.

Afterwards, he joined the Army to receive military training in Algeria and Saint Maixent-l’École in France. The record shows that he was among the first officers to join the elite Airborne Group which he actually commanded, before taking over the Brazzaville Military Zone and the department of intelligence. Before his first tenure as President in 1979 he held the rank of colonel, while in 1989 he was promoted to general.

His election for membership to the first central committee of the Congolese Labor party in 1969, is the starting point of his political career, to be followed by the inclusion to the 5 heads of the Revolutionary Special General Staff in 1975. The first public office he held was that of the Minister of Defense. After the assassination of, at the time, President Marien Ngouabi, he took the position of interim leader of the country while he also held the position of Vice President of the Military Committee of the party. A second term as provisional president, before actually receiving confirmation for the position, begun on February 8 1977 and lasted until August 31 1992.

During this first tenure he built strong relationships with France, received loans from the International Monetary Fund and set the stage for foreign investments in the mineral and oil industries from American and French business interests. In 1989 he begun the transformation of the economy from a state controlled one to capitalism. The same year he granted amnesty to all political prisoners, while in 1990 he passed legislation intended to control and reduce corruption.

After the loss of the elections in 1992, and the end of the First Civil War that lasted for five years, he came back in office in October 25, 1997. Unfortunately, a second civil war that lasted for another five years did not allow for further development of the country. Its end in 2002 left Congo quite devastated with a lot of dead and displaced people. The restructuring of the state and the higher level of living standards have earned him 4 consecutive re-elections to the position: in 2002 for 7 years as per the provisions of the new (at the time) Constitution, and for five-year terms in 2009, 2016 and 2021. He is also responsible for the revised Constitution of 2015.

In addition to all of the above, he has played a major role in African matters through the African Union where he served as chairperson in 2006 for a one-year term.


President Nguesso has had a long and distinguish political and military career that has lasted for 53 years with major accomplishments and a focus on peace, stability and a steady course to the continuous development of his country.

THE DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT

TO EXERCISE THE EXCUTIVE POWER

The President has the responsibility of overseeing the application and enforcement of the laws, the day-to-day administration of the country and take the appropriate decisions in cases of crises.

TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS
OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER

The President is also the head of the government which, along with the parliament, carry out the process of submitting bills and vote for them to become laws.

TO APPOINT THE CABINET OF MINISTERS

It’s a rather typical duty as the reality is that the persons that will serve as ministers, the Prime Minister included, are selected by the Senate and the National Assembly.

As per the latest amendments of the Constitution of the Republic of Congo, there is no limitation for women to be elected to the position.

Whoever is elected serves a 5-year term and cannot stay in office for more than 3 consecutive terms. They are directly elected by the people and must receive the absolute majority of the votes, either through the first, or a second round carried 21 days after the first, between the two candidates that received the greater number of votes.

The eligibility prerequisites for any person to be able to submit themselves in the electorate process, demand that:

  1. The candidate is of Congolese origin
  2. They must have at least 15 years of experience in his profession
  3. They must not be younger than 40, or older than 70 years of age
  4. They must be of good character

The next elections are set for 2026.