By Robert Mbakouo
(Bloomberg) — The Republic of Congo’s ruling Congolese Party of Labour issued a declaration calling for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Sassou Nguesso to run for a third term.
The party’s central committee, which announced the proposal, called for talks with politicians and members of civil society to seek consensus on the proposed reforms. Under the current charter, the president can serve for a maximum of two seven-year terms and the age limit for presidential candidates is 70.
Nguesso, 71, led the country from 1979 to 1992 and then returned to power at the end of a civil war in 1997. He was elected in 2002 and 2009 in elections whose results were contested by the opposition.
A new constitution was that set the term limits was put in place in 2002. – BLOOMBERG
