Sassou-Nguesso hopes to consolidate peace

Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso at the weekend told journalists that he would vie for the top seat in the next elections to "restore democratic rule" in the country so as to finish the job of reconstruction after two devastating civil wars. AP quoted Sassou-Nguesso as saying that the country's peace remained "fragile and precarious" and needed to be consolidated. "I am not the kind of man who takes on battles and projects that I don't finish," Sassou-Nguesso said, promising to rebuild the country's economy, security and institutions. The presidential election is scheduled to take place on 10 March, the legislative one on 12 May, and municipal one on 9 June, AP added. According to a report by Radio Congo quoted by AFP, Sassou-Nguesso's decision to run for election followed a pact reached by the Parti congolais du travail (PCT) and a faction of the Mouvement congolais pour la démocratie et le développement intégral (MCDDI). The two parties reportedly agreed to rally behind Sassou-Nguesso in the presidential election. The MCDDI is led by exiled former Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas, while the splinter group of the party which signed the agreement is led by Mining and Development Minister Michel Mampouya. Sassou-Nguesso headed the country as a one-party state for 13 years, but domestic and foreign pressures forced him to introduce democratic reforms, and in 1992 Pascal Lissouba became the country's first elected president, AP noted. Sassou-Nguesso seized power for a second time during a 1997 civil war, just weeks before presidential elections in which both Sassou-Nguesso and Lissouba were to have stood. He faced a rebellion in 1998, launched by militias loyal to Lissouba and Kolelas. Cease-fire agreements were signed by all sides at the end of 1999, and a new constitution was approved last month. Kolelas and Lissouba, both convicted in absentia for crimes committed during the 1997 war, had said they opposed any elections organised by Sassou-Nguesso, AP added.