Incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso won a fifth term in office after obtaining the majority of votes in the presidential elections held on 15 March 2026. Some opposition members called the election a farce and did not participate. Women were absent from the recently concluded as no female presidential candidate contested.
On 15 March 2026, the Republic of Congo held its presidential election. Seven candidates, all men, contested. Incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso won a record fifth term in office with 94.82% of the vote. Of the other six presidential contenders, Mavoungou-Zinga Mabio received 1.48%, Dave Uphrem Mafoula 1.03% and the remaining four less than 1% respectively. In 2015, a constitutional referendum removed theterm limits, paving the way for President Sassou Nguesso to stand for 2026 election.
The African Union Electoral Observation Mission (AUEOM) described the political environment as “generally calm and orderly”, focused on “policy debates between the ruling party and the opposition.” AUEOM noted that the election’s campaign period passed incident and without hate speech or violence. It also reported that members of civil society called for inclusive dialogue and measures to strengthen participation in the electoral process.
Concerns raised by civil society unfolded amid wider political tensions, high inflation and the country experienced “higher-than-average rainfall and extreme daily rainfall events due to climate change.” The opposition was reportedly “divided and largely absent”, describing the presidential election as a farce. Some opposition members reportedly did not participate due to “concerns and mistrust in the process.”
While the incumbent President highlighted his economic record, human rights groups pointed to the repressive environment and accused the president of persecuting opposition activists. Amnesty International noted several restrictions on human rights ahead of the 2026 presidential elections, including bans on public demonstrations and arbitrary detention of opposition leaders. According to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, protests are rare “as authorities don’t provide permits and respond with violence when demonstrators gather.” Against this backdrop, Congolese women are largely absent from the highest decision-making positions of political life in the Republic of Congo and underrepresented in national and local decision-making processes.
Women’s political participation and representation
Congolese women are largely absent from the highest decision-making positions of political life in the Republic of Congo and underrepresented in national and local decision-making processes. To date no women has elected president or appointed prime minister. Women’s presence and participation in presidential elections in the Congo Republic are rare. In the recently concluded presidential election, all seven (7) candidates were men. The first woman to do so was Angele Bandou in 1992. While she failed to obtain any votes in 1992, she ran for a second time in 2002 and received 2% of the votes. In the 2016 presidential elections, two women - Gilda Rosemonde Moutsara Gambou (Free Conscience Party) and Claudine Munari (Movement for Unity, Solidarity and Labour) announced their candidacies. While Ms. Moutsara Gambou later withdrew, Ms Munari obtained 1.65% of the votes.
Congolese women’s representation in parliament remains slow. As of 1 March 2026, women account for 14.9% of the 151 members in the National Assembly and 31.9% of the 72-member Senate. The next elections for the lower house are expected to be held in 2027, while for the upper house in 2029.
On 24 April 2026, the new government was presented. Anatole Collinet Makosso was reappointed Prime Minister. Among 39 ministers, 8 (20.5%) are women:
- Minister of Environment, Congo Basin and Sustainable Development: Ms Arlette Soudan-Nonault
- Minister of Forest Economic Affairs: Ms Rosalie Matondo
- Minister of Social Security, Social Security and National Solidarity: Ms Ghislaine Ingrid Olga Ebouka-Babackas
- Minister of Trade, Supply and Consumer Affairs, responsible for the Zécaf: Ms Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo
- Minister of Social Affairs and Humanitarian Action: Ms Marie-France Hélène Lydie Pongault
- Minister of Higher Education: Ms Delphine Edith Emmanuel Adouki
- Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Crafts: Mrs Irène Marie-Cécile Mboukou-Kimbatsa
- Minister for the Advancement of Women, the Integration of Women in Development, the Social Compact and the Informal Economy: Ms Inès Nefer Bertille Ingani
While women were absent from the 2026 presidential polls, their participation and representation in political life can in part be attributed to the legislative and policy initiatives the Congo Republic has implemented in recent years.
Advancing Women’s Rights: Legislative and Policy Progress
The Congo Republic has adopted legislation and policy initiatives aimed at strengthening women’s rights and removing discriminatory provisions and practices. Women’s equal and full participation and representation in public and political life are enshrined in the 2015 Constitution. It guarantees “parity and assures the promotion as well as the representativeness of women in all political, elective and administrative functions.”
Women’s political participation and representation were further advanced in 2014 when the Congo Republic amended its Electoral Law. The Act No. 40-2014 mandated that women comprise at least 30% of the candidates presented by political parties for elections to the National Assembly, the Senate and local councils. This represented an increase from previous legislation, which set the gender target at 15% for candidates to the National Assembly and 20% in local elections. The amended Electoral Law, however, does not impose any enforcement mechanisms such as ranking requirements or sanctions at the national level. Concerning local elections, the Electoral Law mandates that one in three consecutive candidates shall be a woman. As of 1 January 2025, women account for 21% of elected members at the local level in Congo.
At the policy level, the Congolese government implemented various strategies aimed at strengthening women’s rights concerning women, peace and security, gender-based violence and women’s access to decision-making spheres and promoting women’s political participation. Concerning the latter, its National Program to Promote Women’s Leadership in Politics and Public Life (2017–2021) included goals, such as amending the legal framework and improving institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women in political, elected, and administrative positions and promoting the image of women leaders and raising awareness of the role of women.
Women in Political and Public Life: Challenges and Barriers
Congolese women make up half of the country’s population and are active members in public life, yet their representation in political and decision-making positions remains low. The absence of female candidates in the recently concluded presidential election and their underrepresentation in politics can be attributed to multiple, often reinforcing, structural barriers.
The cost of running a political campaign is high, and the resources required put women at a disadvantage. Congo Republic has some of the highest levels of inequality on the continent, with women bearing the brunt of it. Furthermore, Congolese women face systemic discrimination in employment, housing, and education. They are denied equal pay for work of equal value and have limited access to credit. Female candidates are often marginalised due to economic dependence and party-controlled campaign financing.
While Congo Republic have adopted legislation strengthening women’s rights, there are significant gaps between law and practice. While the Electoral Law sets the candidate quota at 30%, the target has yet to be reached, apart from the Senate and enforcement regarding placement of women on candidate lists remains weak, especially for local elections. Moreover, Congolese women and girls continue “to be affected by gender-based violence, with impunity for perpetrators” despite the adoption of the Mouebara Act in 2022. The Act criminalises all physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence against women and strengthens penalties for domestic violence, spousal rape and workplace harassment.
The persistence of gender stereotypes poses a barrier to women’s full and equal political participation. A study found that Congolese women may be discouraged from engaging politically not because of a lack of ambition, but due to a fear of stigma, violence and social judgement. Women who speak out in public are seen as disrespectful. Women who hold leadership positions are often not respected and often perceived as incapable of providing solutions. An entrenched patriarchal system relegates women to subordinate leadership roles rather than to senior and executive positions.
Advocating for Change: Women Driving Progress
Congolese women have a long history of organising to coordinate advocacy and claim a greater – and equal – role in the country’s political and public life. For example, in 2017 ahead of the legislative elections, Fondation Sounga, founded to promote women’s autonomy, publicly called on political parties and the electoral commission to enforce the legal requirement that women make up at least 30% of candidates on party lists. They argued that women’s low representation in parliament was a test of the country’s democracy and urged the electoral commission to consider rejecting lists that failed to meet the quota, treating the law as a standard that institutions must be held to.
Under the National Program for the Promotion of Women’s Leadership in Political and Public Life (2017–2021), the government of Congo carried out training for “1,200 female candidates for the July 2022 legislative and local elections, as well as the August 2023 Senate elections.” It also held other initiatives aimed at changing attitudes and behaviours on women’s leadership.
Across the Republic, women’s organisations are also pushing for the application of the Mouebara Act. In Brazzaville, the association Engagées pour les filles et femmes du Congo (EF2C), created in November 2025 to protect and defend the rights of girls and women, used a gathering on the eve of International Women’s Day to urge people to take responsibility for supporting the law. In Pointe-Noire, women who attended a similar meeting welcomed the progress brought by the law, said more remains to be done, and called for a social pact in which the future president commits to guaranteeing women’s rights while women commit to taking part in the democratic process. Together, these efforts show Congolese women and their allies working to make the law effective, to raise public awareness, and to increase women’s political voice.
Conclusion
In the presidential elections held on 15 March 2026, won by Denis Sassou Nguesso, women were absent. The Constitution prevents President Sassou Nguesso from running again in 2031. Who will succeed him remains an open question.
Ahead of the upcoming legislative elections in 2027 and 2029, Congolese women’s groups and actors will undoubtedly continue a long tradition of advocacy and holding elected officials accountable for enforcing legislation and removing barriers and discriminatory practices and provisions to women’s full and equal political participation. A foundation has been laid with the adoption of legislative quotas; now the challenge is to turn promises made into real achievements, resulting in equal participation and representation of women in all decision-making positions and processes and a democratic and inclusive Congolese society for all.