The Republic of Congo has set March 21, 2021 as date for it’s Presidential Election.
This is one of the main announcements of President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s State of the Nation address on Wednesday, December 23.
“The presidential election in Congo will be held on March 21 2021, to avoid any unconstitutionality”, says the head of state.
The President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou-Nguesso is adhering to Article 69 of the Constitution which stipulates that the first round of the presidential election must take place at least 30 days at the most 40 before the expiration of the term of office of the incumbent president.
So Denis Sassou-Nguesso insisted on complying with the Constitution by announcing the holding of this election no later than March 21 next year.
The announcement from Congolese president has put an end to speculations if the elections will be held.
Since December 2019, opponents have been asking for the postponement of this election, notably the leader of the opposition Pascal Tsaty Mabiala.
Opponents have also asked for arbitration by the head of state to try to see how to remove some of the stumbling blocks regarding the presidential elections.
“March 21 is already three months away, and it is expected that the country will be ready and the conditions will be met to hold credible elections in the Republic of Congo”, Africa Governance Report gathered.
The Electoral Commission has already known its leaders a few weeks ago and its president Henri Bouka, is the president of the Supreme Court.
The opposition is requesting biometrics in the organization of the polls.
Denis Sassou Nguesso still has to confirm that he accepts his party’s ticket to seek for another mandate
But when we look at his State of the Nation address on Wednesday, there are even a few elements that can lead us to say that the president might run again.
He tried to outline a few projects to come, including the construction of a refinery in Pointe Noire, he also talked about the construction of hospitals in some region.
In a nutshell, so many elements that can still lead us to say that this is a small campaign project.
Observers think that this election has its place with regards to the involvement of the country in certain issues that concern the continent, or Libya as we have seen recently.
It is also perhaps a step to measure the degree of democracy on the continent.
