Congolese 'dinosaur' To Stay On Despite Age Debate After Decades In Power

Brazzaville, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd May, 2024) Denis Sassou Nguesso's 40-year rule of Congo-Brazzaville has sparked debate over the appropriate age for a president, with the African 'dinosaur' already widely expected to win the next election that is not due until 2026.

The former paratrooper was president of Congo-Brazzaville from 1979-1992 under a single-party regime, then returned to office in 1997 after a civil war and has dominated politics ever since.

Dubbed the "emperor", Sassou Nguesso, who is officially 80 and remains fit, is widely expected to run for a fifth term in 2026.

"He makes no secret of it," a diplomat told AFP.

Last September, a rumour of a potential coup spread on social media following a string of coups that have rocked the Sahel since 2020, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon. But all remained calm in the oil-producing country.

After successive elections in 2002 and 2009, Sassou Nguesso held the presidential reins in 2016 and 2021 by making a constitutional change in 2015 which bypassed the original age limit, 70, and increased the number of five-year terms to three.