As Congo-Brazzaville approaches its presidential election, the country’s two parliamentary leaders have used the opening of their chambers to press a shared message: maturity, restraint and peace.
On 1 February, Senate president Pierre Ngolo and National Assembly president Isidore Mvouba addressed the ordinary sessions of their institutions. Both looked ahead to the vote scheduled for 12 and 15 March.
The Senate Urges Peace And Order
The head of the upper chamber wished for the March deadline to unfold in a climate of peace, security and calm. He framed it as a way to confirm the progress of Congo’s young democracy.
“The Senate calls on the government to take all measures contributing to guaranteeing the security of institutions and the population; to consolidate peace and national concord,” Pierre Ngolo said.
He asked political actors to rise to the level of their responsibilities by cultivating fair play. He urged them to refrain from acts liable to endanger citizens, disturb the peace or damage public order.
A Reminder Of The Sovereign National Conference
Ngolo tied the moment to a founding commitment. He recalled the duty, taken since the Sovereign National Conference, to build democracy in peace.
“In choosing to restore political pluralism in Congo, the conference participants solemnly proclaimed their categorical opposition to the realisation of individual ambitions through the sacrifice of the sons and daughters of Congo, who all have a right to life and well-being,” he said.
For him, the 2026 election remains a test of leaders’ stature and of their capacity to convince the greatest number. Each person, at their level, is called to ensure the contest unfolds in conditions of security and transparency.
He also condemned the deadly events at Mindouli, in the Pool, on 11 and 12 January. Such incidents, he warned, revive memories of bloody episodes and cannot be tolerated as the country prepares for the vote.
The Assembly Speaks Of A Mirror
The National Assembly president, for his part, recalled that the March election is a fundamental democratic appointment and not merely a date on a calendar. According to Isidore Mvouba, the constitutional rendez-vous demands responsibility and political maturity.
The election, he specified, is a moment of the people’s sovereign expression that cannot become a pretext for division. Political competition must remain a confrontation of ideas, never a clash of persons.
“It is a mirror. A mirror of our democratic maturity. A mirror of our collective capacity to organise this political competition in peace,” Mvouba said.
He framed the choice ahead as one of direction. “On the day of this great choice, the people will not be content to vote, they will inscribe their will in history, and I hope, without violence, without tumult, but with the tranquil force of assumed sovereignty,” he added.
Condemning Unrest, Affirming Unity
Mvouba stressed that the Assembly’s responsibility was immense, describing an exigency that illuminates decisions, eases tensions and consolidates national cohesion.
He, too, condemned what he called “recent security tremors” observed in the Pool and the Djoue-Lefini, before welcoming the peace recovered in those two departments.
“The Republic opens its doors to all, but it does not negotiate its laws. There should no longer be, across the national territory, lawless zones,” he said. His words closed a pair of appeals aimed at steering the campaign toward calm in a Congo described as one and indivisible (Les Depeches de Brazzaville).