Congo's ruling party to field president Sassou Nguesso as candidate in 2021 polls

The president of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso has be elected as the Congolese Labour Party’s candidate for the 2021 presidential election. Nguesso was unanimously approved at the end of the ruling party’s congress which ended on Monday.

The outgoing General Secretary of the ruling party said: “The committee has requested the candidacy for the 2021 presidential election of comrade president Denis Sassou Nguesso. Is this true or false? It was unanimous.

“An inescapable choice, that of change in continuity, stability and peace,” commented members of the ruling party who defended the choice.

A sitting lawmaker said: “It’s a choice of experience. It is the choice of wisdom. Comrade President of the Central Committee, Comrade Denis Sassou Nguesso is our champion, obviously.

A delegate Odette Mazapamba added: “He is the man of concrete actions, the tireless one and he is for the march towards development.

Denis Sassou Nguesso 79 years old has already been in power for 30 years. But the Congolese Constitution allows him to run for the 2021 and 2026 presidential elections.

The opposition, whose main party, the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy, refused, on Thursday, to postpone the next election until 2023 demanding the president stands down.