POINTE-NOIRE, Congo, Feb 28, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The campaign for next month's presidential election in Congo-Brazzaville begins on Saturday, with 82-year-old President Denis Sassou Nguesso seemingly assured of extending his decades in power. He overthrew Lissouba in a civil war to return to power in 1997. - Contested elections -Congo-Brazzaville, a former French colony, is rich in oil but nearly half of its six million people live below the poverty line. They had strongly disputed the official results, which gave Sassou Nguesso 60 percent of the vote. The president is nonetheless reputed to have brought a degree of stability back to the country scarred by civil war in the 1990s and to a region plagued by conflict.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha February 28, 2026 07:01 UTC