The main opposition party in the Republic of Congo is determined to boycott the March 21 elections, given that President Denis Sassou Nguesso is running for re-election despite being in power for decades.
The 77-year-old president is one of the longest-serving leaders in the world as he has led the country for 36 years.
The first secretary of the opposition group Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS) Pascal Tsaty Mabiala said that the presidential election should not divide the country as it has done in the past.
"We have unanimously decided not to take part in it, either directly, or by a proxy candidate," Mabiala added.
Former president Pascal Lissouba, who died in France last August, led UPADS which is the only opposition party to have a parliamentary group in the current national assembly.
Sassou Nguesso overthrew Lissouba in a brief civil war in 1997.
Sassou Nguesso secured a third term in the 2016 elections following the staged referendum in 2015 that saw the removal of the 70-year age limit together with the ban on presidents serving more than two terms.
The 2016 elections were marred by bloodshed and fraud claims.
Former General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and ex-minister Andre Okombi Salissa, who were Nguesso's rivals at the time, were arrested and put on trial for disputing the results.
The two were then sentenced to 20 years in jail on charges of undermining state security.
The slump in oil prices, long-standing debt and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continue to sink the country in a deep economic crisis.
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