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Incumbent Denis Sassou Nguesso wins presidential election in the Republic of Congo
In the Republic of the Congo, incumbent Denis Sassou Nguesso won Sunday’s presidential election with 94.82% of the vote, as announced by Interior Minister Raymond Zéphirin Mboulou on state television on Tuesday. The 82-year-old, who ran for the Parti Congolais du Travail (PCT), defeated six challengers and is now headed for a fifth term. Independent candidate Zinga Mabio Mavoungou, aged 69, came second with 1.48%. The results are preliminary and must be confirmed by the Constitutional Court. The losing candidates have five days to appeal against the results; the Constitutional Court then has 15 days to review the appeals and announce the final results. According to official figures, voter turnout was 84.65% of the more than 3.2 million registered Congolese voters, almost 20% higher than in the last presidential election in 2021 (68%).
Observers, however, anticipated lower voter turnout. According to media reports, the number of voters at polling stations, particularly in the capital, Brazzaville, remained relatively low; furthermore, the two main opposition parties boycotted the election. Reasons cited include a lack of transparency in the electoral process and the imprisonment of leading opposition politicians such as Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and André Okombi Salissa, who have been detained for almost a decade. As with previous elections (Press Review CW 12/2021), polling day was also overshadowed by nationwide internet outages. Traffic in the capital was likewise disrupted. The African Union Election Observation Mission assessed the proceedings in its preliminary report as “generally calm and orderly”, but also noted that the internet outage had hampered the mission’s work.
Even before the election, analysts gave the opposition candidates little chance. The opposition was considered fragmented, and the candidates relatively unknown; moreover, they lacked the financial resources of the incumbent to campaign nationwide. At the same time, media outlets and international human rights organisations had recently reported increasing numbers of arbitrary arrests of opposition supporters and restrictions on political participation. Furthermore, critics accuse Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has been in power, with a brief interruption, since 1979 and abolished term and age limits through a constitutional amendment in 2015, of consolidating his power. The Central African country also faces significant structural challenges. Despite substantial oil and mineral reserves, it struggles with high levels of poverty, youth unemployment and underemployment, national debt, and a heavy dependence of its economy on the oil sector.
At the same time, President Denis Sassou Nguesso is also perceived by many as a guarantor of stability. His government succeeded in stabilising the economy in recent years and successfully completed a debt restructuring programme with the International Monetary Fund last year – public debt fell from 103.6% of gross domestic product in 2020 to 93.6% in 2024. Accordingly, the incumbent focused his campaign primarily on the themes of stability, continuity, and economic development, pointing to infrastructure projects and plans for economic diversification, particularly in agriculture and gas production. Regionally and internationally, Sassou Nguesso is also seen as a guarantor of stability and a mediator, notably through his mediation efforts between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Compared with its neighbouring countries, the Republic of the Congo is also considered relatively politically stable.
Senegal settles $471 million in foreign debt
Last Friday, Senegal settled outstanding debts amounting to $471 million, thereby avoiding an immediate default. The repayment comprised €380 million to Eurobond holders and $33 million to holders of US dollar-denominated bonds, covering due principal and interest. The payment was financed via the regional bond markets of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), where Senegal has raised around $1.9 billion (CFAF 1.1 trillion) this year. Meanwhile, Senegal is behind on its payments to France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. While this remains within typical grace periods of around 90 days, financial experts note that the delay is longer than usual and therefore a cause for concern.
With this repayment, Senegal has secured short-term financial relief; however, the country remains under considerable fiscal pressure. According to estimates by JPMorgan, interest and principal payments totalling $9.7 billion are due this year, followed by a further $7.8 billion next year. Despite these challenges, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko have maintained that Senegal remains solvent and already rejected a debt restructuring proposal by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November last year. Instead, the government plans to raise around 4.1 trillion CFAF (€6.1 billion) on regional bond markets this year. However, experts are questioning whether this will be sufficient. At the same time, the government has announced austerity measures, including spending cuts, tax increases and the closure of 19 government agencies. These measures are expected to save approximately $97.95 million over the next three years, though around 1,000 jobs may be lost. Public discontent has been rising, with recent teacher strikes and student protests over the withdrawal of state support; reports indicate that one student died during these demonstrations. In parallel, the government is pursuing reforms in the raw materials sector, including the renegotiation or cancellation of contracts, the withdrawal of mining licences where obligations have not been met, and the freezing of company accounts to recover outstanding payments.
Senegal is currently facing a severe debt crisis, the full extent of which became apparent around a year and a half ago. In September 2024, the new government under Faye reported irregularities in previous debt data following audits. Consequently, the IMF suspended a credit facility worth around US$1.8 billion that had been agreed to support Senegal’s public finances. A report by the Court of Auditors published in February 2025 confirmed significantly higher levels of debt and budget deficits than previously reported (Press Review CW 9/2026). Estimates suggest that previously undisclosed debt amounts to as much as $13 billion, bringing total public debt to around 132% of GDP at the end of 2024. It remains uncertain whether the government will be able to maintain solvency under its current fiscal strategy.
In other news
On Tuesday, the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) Appeal Board stripped Senegal of its victory in the Africa Cup of Nations final held on 18 January in Rabat and awarded the match to Morocco with a 3–0 scoreline. The decision is based on Articles 82 and 84 of the CAF Regulations, which state that a team loses a match if it unilaterally interrupts or abandons the game. Specifically, the temporary departure of Senegalese players from the pitch was deemed to be a withdrawal from the match, which is why the final, originally won 1–0 after extra time, was subsequently converted into a defeat. The trigger was the chaotic scenes in the closing stages of the match. Following a disallowed goal for Senegal and a subsequent, controversial penalty for Morocco, part of the team had left the pitch in protest (Press Review CW 4/2026), but later returned and finished the match as normal. The result was initially upheld and fines and suspensions were imposed, before the Moroccan Football Association successfully lodged an appeal. The Senegalese Football Association has already announced that it will take the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In Senegal, the ruling was sharply criticised by the association, politicians and the public and dismissed as unfair, whereas in Morocco it was welcomed as confirmation of the applicable rules.