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Congo (1) -- News -- 2009
Low Turnout May Mar Congo Republic Election
12.07.2009
The Congo Republic voted in an election widely expected to give President Denis Sassou-Nguesso seven more years in power, but turnout appeared low after an opposition boycott.
There were no reports of widespread violence, but scuffles were reported between former militia fighters and soldiers in the volatile Pool region, the scene of fighting during a conflict from 1997 to 2002.
Investors seeking to diversify the economy in the central African country, Africa’s fifth-biggest oil producer, are watching to see whether the vote starts a repeat of the conflict and fights that have marred previous elections and disrupted political and economic stability.
Opposition parties, citing irregularities in voter lists and cards, had called for the vote to be postponed to allow for the creation of a new election commission and the cleanup of voter lists, which were a source of complaints during the 2002 election.
The European Union has also already criticized the lack of progress made here since the voting in 2002.
Few took part in demonstrations called by the opposition in the lead-up to the vote, but there was apathy among many of the 2.2 million eligible voters.
Mr. Sassou-Nguesso, who has attracted large crowds at campaign rallies and told his followers not to fear political violence, voted under a heavy security presence.
He has been in and out of power since a 1979 coup, losing multiparty elections in 1992 before sweeping back into power in a war that destroyed much of the capital, Brazzaville, in 1997. He won the election in 2002, when his main rivals were barred or withdrew, citing irregularities.
“Not much has evolved since 2002 in terms of an administration which does not give clear figures on registration, electoral lists or the process itself,” said Miguel Amado, the chief of the European Union mission. “We expected more progress from the government.”
Congo (1) -- Analyses -- 2009
Denis Sassou-Nguesso, democrat or autocrat?
17.10.2009
A Congolese politician and former military leader who twice served as president of the Republic of the Congo (1979–92 and 1997– ).
Having joined the Congolese Labour Party (Parti Congolais du Travail; PCT), which embraced a Marxist-Leninist ideology
and was designated the country’s sole ruling party in 1970, Sassou-Nguesso became a protege of Pres. Marien Ngouabi (1968–77),
who appointed him minister of defense in 1975. After Ngouabi was assassinated in 1977, Sassou-Nguesso’s rival within the PCT,
Joachim Yhombi-Opango, came to power and appointed Sassou-Nguesso first vice president of the PCT’s military committee.
Yhombi-Opango was forced to resign in February 1979, and the following month the PCT appointed Sassou-Nguesso president
of the republic and head of the party..
Although Sassou-Nguesso’s political roots were Marxist-Leninist in nature, as president he adopted a pro-Western approach when it was pragmatic to do so.
Falling oil prices in the 1980s contributed to a faltering economy and growing discontent in the country.
In response, the PCT officially abandoned its Marxist-Leninist policies in 1990,
a move that did not bode well for Sassou-Nguesso. The country’s first multiparty elections were held in August 1992.
Sassou-Nguesso was eliminated in the first round of voting, and Pascal Lissouba of the Pan-African Union
for Social Development (Union Panafricaine pour la Democratie Sociale; UPADS) was elected president.
Sassou-Nguesso was reelected in 2002 in an election clouded by controversy. Some opposition candidates boycotted the race,
claiming that democratic reform was still lacking and that the election would not be free and fair; as a result,
Sassou-Nguesso faced no real competition.
The July 12, 2009, presidential election was simular to the 2002 one, the election was again boycotted by the main opposition candidates,
and Sassou-Nguesso was reelected by a wide margin of victory.
Those boycotted elections brought the attention of the EU, however, for now, Denis Sassou-Nguesso remains the president of Republic of the Congo.
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