Editing Denis Sassou Nguesso (section)

===2009–2016: Re-election and constitutional referendum===
[[File:Denis Sassou-Nguesso with Obamas.jpg|left|thumb|215px|Sassou Nguesso and [[Antoinette Sassou Nguesso|Antoinette]] with [[Barack Obama|Barack]] and [[Michelle Obama]] in 2009]]
Sassou Nguesso was re-elected as President of the Central Committee of the PCT at the party's Fifth Extraordinary Congress in December 2006.<ref>Willy Mbossa, [http://www.brazzaville-adiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&dep_id=14234&oldaction=liste&regpay_id=0&them_id=0&cat_id=0&ss_cat_id=0&LISTE_FROM=0&select_month=12&select_year=2006 "Denis Sassou Nguesso reconduit à la tête du comité central du Parti congolais du travail"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708093050/http://www.brazzaville-adiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&dep_id=14234&oldaction=liste&regpay_id=0&them_id=0&cat_id=0&ss_cat_id=0&LISTE_FROM=0&select_month=12&select_year=2006 |date=8 July 2011}}, ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 30 December 2006 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> He was re-elected in the July 2009 presidential election with 78.61% of the vote amidst an opposition boycott. He said that his re-election meant continued "peace, stability and security", and he called for an end to "thinking like ... freeloaders" in reference to international aid. At his inauguration Sassou Nguesso announced that he would support an amnesty bill to pardon Lissouba, who had gone into exile after his 1997 ouster and was convicted of crimes ''in absentia''. Sassou Nguesso said that he wanted the amnesty bill to be presented to Parliament by the end of 2009.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140225075845/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g_1c-B0FlV37Bpumy0UGd69KnElw "Congo leader in pardon for ex-president at start of new term"], AFP, 14 August 2009.</ref> As Congo-Brazzaville prepared to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from France in 2010, Sassou Nguesso noted that the country had far to go in fully realizing the dream of independence: "Our country will not be totally independent until our people are free of the yoke of poverty."<ref>[https://archive.today/20130124192312/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gzFgzuy0Lp0LPYqvZp7iaBQ3YmaQ "Congo celebrates 50 years independence"], AFP, 15 August 2010.</ref>
[[File:Denis Sassou-Nguesso & Vladimir Putin - 2019.jpg|thumb|225px|[[Vladimir Putin]] with Sassou Nguesso at a ceremony for exchanging documents signed following Russia-Congo talks, May 2019]]
On 27 March 2015 Sassou Nguesso announced that his government would hold [[2015 Republic of the Congo constitutional referendum|a referendum to change the 2002 constitution]], which would allow him to run for a third consecutive term.<ref>Aaron Ross, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-president-idUSKBN0MN25N20150327 "Congo Republic president says expects referendum over third term"], Reuters, 27 March 2015.</ref> The proposal was overwhelmingly approved by voters, with 92.96% in favor. Turnout was officially placed at 72.44%.<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/more-90-vote-allow-congo-leaders-bid-extend-071858967.html "More than 90% vote to allow Congo leader's bid to extend rule"], Agence France-Presse, 27 October 2015.</ref> However the opposition argued that due to low turnout, the results should be annulled.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 October 2015 |title=Congo referendum should be annulled due to low turnout, opposition says |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-politics-idUSKCN0SK1C120151026 |access-date=23 July 2022}}</ref>

On 20 March 2016, Sassou Nguesso ran for a third consecutive term of 5 years and was [[2016 Republic of the Congo presidential election|reelected in the first round]] with 60% of the vote.<ref name="Elion">{{Cite news|last=Elion|first=Christian|date=24 March 2016|title=Congo's Sassou Nguesso wins re-election, opposition vows protests|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-election-idUSKCN0WQ0MQ|access-date=15 August 2021}}</ref>

Opposition leader Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas finished second with 15 percent of the vote while retired general [[Jean-Marie Mokoko]], a former security adviser to Sassou Nguesso, came third with 14 percent.

For the first time in the history of the Republic, these elections were supervised by an independent commission (CNEI: Commission Nationale Electorale Indépendante). The opposition rejected the outcome, alleging fraud and calling for [[civil disobedience]].<ref name="Elion"/>