Sawt Falasteen - Congo-Brazzaville's veteran president declares re-election run

Sassou Nguesso's cumulative 42 years in power -- minus a five-year break -- make him one of Africa's longest-ruling leaders, after Paul Biya of Cameroon, in office since 1982, and Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who took power in a 1979 coup.

Congo-Brazzaville, an oil-rich central African country of six million people, is scheduled to hold presidential elections on March 15.

"I will stand as a candidate," Sassou Nguesso said in a statement issued by his staff.

He made the announcement before a crowd of several thousand people in the district of Ignie, in southern Congo-Brazzaville, according to the statement.

He promised the crowd, which was packed with farmers, to work to ensure food security, and vowed to "accompany" the nation's youth.

Just four percent of arable land is farmed in Congo-Brazzaville, which is largely covered in forest.

The country relies heavily on imported food, leaving the population vulnerable to international price fluctuations.

Rights groups say basic freedoms are heavily restricted in the country, and have condemned threats against opposition figures.

- Opposition alliance -

If Sasso Nguesso wins a new five-year term, it will be his last under the current constitution, which sets a limit of three.

Sassou Nguesso first ruled the country under a single-party system from 1979 to 1992, before losing the first multi-party elections to former prime minister Pascal Lissouba.

Sassou Nguesso overthrew Lissouba in a civil war to return to power in 1997, and has remained in office since, winning election in 2002 and 2009, then again under an amended constitution in 2016 and 2021.

He introduced a constitutional amendment in 2015 that eliminated the previous limit of two presidential terms and the age restriction on candidates over 70.

The president's party, the Congolese Labour Party (PCT), named him its candidate in December, calling him the "natural" choice.

The opposition has accused Sassou Nguesso of stealing every election since 2002.

Two former opposition presidential candidates, General Jean‑Marie Michel Mokoko and Andre Okombi Salissa, are currently serving 20-year prison sentences.

They were convicted on charges of "attacking internal security" after contesting Sassou Nguesso's victory in 2016, when he claimed a reported 60 percent of the vote.

Three opposition parties have joined forces in an alliance in a bid to defeat Sassou Nguesso in this year's elections.

The president's family also faces the threat of an embezzlement investigation in France, the country's former colonial ruler, where they have extensive property holdings.

F.AbuShamala--SF-PST