Governance in Republic of the Congo – World Countries for Kids

President Denis Sassou Nguesso has been in power nearly uninterrupted for over 40 years by severely repressing the opposition. Decades of political instability and corruption have contributed to pitiable economic performance and extreme levels of poverty. Abuses by security forces are regularly reported and hardly ever investigated. While a range of media operate, free coverage is limited by extensive self-censorship and the sway of owners allied with the government. Human rights– and governance-related NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) examine state abuses, but also self-censor to evade reprisals.

Electoral Process

The president is elected via direct elections to five-year terms. The 2002 constitution limited number of terms for a person to become president to two and set an age limit of 70. Nevertheless, a 2015 constitutional referendum proposed by the President did away with those restrictions, letting him to run again. The referendum was passed amidst widespread protests and claims of fraud.

Sassou Nguesso has been in power since 1979, with the exception of a five-year epoch in the 1990s. In March 2021, he won his fourth presidential term since regaining power in 1997, claiming 88.4 percent of the vote. The election was marked by an internet shutdown, restrictions on assembly rights, intimidation, and a boycott by the opposition UPADS.

Congo’s parliament consists of a 151-seat National Assembly and a 72-seat Senate. National Assembly members are elected via direct elections to five-year terms. Councilors from each department elect senators to six-year terms. The legislative elections held in 2022 were boycotted by quite a few opposition parties amidst believable allegations that the vote would be rigged. Sassou Nguesso’s Congolese Labor Party (PCT) won 112 National Assembly seats, and its allies won another 12. The opposition groups UPADS and UDH-YUKI each won 7. Opposition groups alleged that the elections were sham; voter turnout was low.

New senators were elected by municipal and departmental councillors, in August 2023. The ruling PCT got 52 seats, its allies got 12, and independent candidates won 7. Just a solitary member of the opposition was elected, Élisabeth Mapaha of UPADS. Pierre Ngolo was re-elected as the Senate’s president.

The 2015 constitutional referendum greatly augmented the PCT’s dominance of the political system by letting Sassou Nguesso to run for a third term. Elections are managed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which was established in 2016 and is commonly viewed as an instrument of presidential authority. Although political groupings exist, the government represses those not allied with the PCT, including by persecuting their leaders.