The Congolese Party of Labour (french: Parti congolais du travail, PCT) is the

ruling party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...

of the Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1969 by

Marien Ngouabi Marien Ngouabi (or N'Gouabi) (December 31, 1938 – March 18, 1977) was the third President of the Republic of the Congo from January 1, 1969, to March 18, 1977. Biography Origins Marien Ngouabi was born in 1938 at the village of Ombellé, Cu ...

, it was originally a pro-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...

vanguard party Vanguardism in the context of Leninist revolutionary struggle, relates to a strategy whereby the most class-conscious and politically "advanced" sections of the proletariat or working class, described as the revolutionary vanguard, form organ ...

which founded the

People's Republic of the Congo The People's Republic of the Congo (french: République populaire du Congo) was a Marxist–Leninist socialist state that existed in the Republic of the Congo from 1969 to 1992. The People's Republic of the Congo was founded in December 1969 ...

. It took a more moderate

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

stance following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and adopted

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

as its principal ideology in 2006.

Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as ...

is the President of the PCT Central Committee, and

Pierre Moussa Pierre Moussa (born 24 July 1941) is a Congolese politician who has been President of the Commission of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa since 2012. He served in the government of Congo-Brazzaville as Minister of Planning f ...

is the Secretary-General of the PCT.

One-party rule

The PCT was founded by President

on 29 December 1969, and was Congo-Brazzaville's sole ruling party from its inception. From the outset, it was heavily dominated by military officers from the sparsely populated north of Congo-Brazzaville. Although the PCT regime was designed as a

-style socialist

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

, it was essentially a military regime with a strongly ethno-regional character. Members of the southern ethnic groups, who were far more numerous than northerners, were included in the power structure, but the top leaders were consistently northerners. Ideologically, the party represented a spectrum of Marxist–Leninist views and suffered from internecine struggles in the 1970s, which sometimes turned violent. Some leaders on the left-wing of the party, such as

Ange Diawara Ange Diawara (1941 – April 1973) was a politician and military figure from the Republic of the Congo.Rémy Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'' (1997), Karthala Editions, pages 145, 149, 193, ...

and

Claude-Ernest Ndalla Claude-Ernest Ndalla (born 25 May 1937Rémy Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'' (1997), Karthala Editions, page 440 .pro-Chinese position; they unsuccessfully attempted a ''coup d'etat'' against Ngouabi in February 1972. The right wing of the party, which was derided as having only a superficial commitment to Marxism–Leninism, was represented by

Joachim Yhombi Opango Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango (12 January 1939 – 30 March 2020) was a Congolese politician. He was an army officer who became Congo-Brazzaville's first general and served as Head of State of the People's Republic of the Congo from 1977 to 197 ...

; the 1972 plot was inspired by the left wing's loathing for Yhombi Opango. Ngouabi was assassinated under unclear circumstances in March 1977 and succeeded by Yhombi Opango, whose opponents in the PCT were angered by his rightist deviationism and perceived marginalization of the party, and they ousted him in a February 1979 technical coup, installing

—another career officer from the north—in power. The elevation of Sassou Nguesso, who represented the PCT's left-wing, marked a return to party orthodoxy. Sassou Nguesso was neither a radical leftist nor an ideologue; his policies were generally marked by pragmatism, and he sought warm relations with the West as well as the Eastern Bloc. As Sassou Nguesso consolidated power, PCT factionalism was less pronounced during the 1980s, although internal power struggles continued.

Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya (January 7, 1936 François-Xavier Katali François-Xavier is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * François-Xavier Archambault (1841–1893), a lawyer and political figure in Quebec * François-Xavier Audouin (1765–1837), a French clergyman and politi ...

, favored a hard-line pro-

position; Sassou Nguesso was able to marginalize the Katali faction at the 1984 congress. Katali was demoted to a minor government ministry, but suffered no further punishment; when he died of a heart attack in 1986, he was considered a national hero. Serious unrest in 1990 resulted in the collapse of the PCT regime. Sassou Nguesso was forced to introduce multi-party politics in 1990 and then call a National Conference in 1991. The National Conference saw severe criticism of Sassou Nguesso and repudiated PCT rule; it set up a non-PCT transitional government and reduced Sassou Nguesso to figurehead status.

Multi-party era

The PCT was in opposition from 1992 to 1997, during the presidency of

Pascal Lissouba Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020) was a Congolese politician who was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by the form ...

. Although Marxist–Leninist ideology was abandoned, the party remained loyal to Sassou Nguesso and it continued to be dominated by key figures from the one-party era. Sassou Nguesso ultimately returned to power in the June–October 1997 civil war. Denis Sassou Nguesso, presidential candidate of both the PCT and the

United Democratic Forces The United Democratic Forces ( bg, Обединени Демократични Сили, ОДС/ODS) were a center-right electoral alliance in Bulgaria, led by the Union of Democratic Forces. Members of the coalition 1997 * Union of Democrati ...

coalition, won the March 2002 presidential election with 89.4% of the vote; there were no serious opposition candidates. The PCT won 53 out of 137 seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

in the May–June 2002 parliamentary election; together with smaller, allied parties, it held a parliamentary majority. At the party's Fifth Extraordinary Congress in December 2006, Sassou-Nguesso was re-elected as President of the Central Committee of the PCT and

Ambroise Noumazalaye Ambroise Édouard Noumazalaye (September 23, 1933Rémy Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'' (1997), Karthala Editions, page 442.November 17, 2007 The political landscape in Congo-Brazzaville has been highly fractured since the early 1990s. In an effort to consolidate support for Sassou Nguesso, an initiative to "refound" the PCT as a broader party was attempted in 2006. Although backed by Secretary-General Noumazalaye, the effort encountered firm opposition from PCT "conservatives", led by Justin Lekoundzou, who wanted to preserve the PCT as a distinct party. Noumazalaye died in November 2007, and Prime Minister

Isidore Mvouba Isidore Mvouba (born 1954John F. Clark and Samuel Decalo, ''Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo'', fourth edition (2012), Scarecrow Press, page 305.) is a Congolese politician who was Prime Minister of Congo-Brazzaville from 2005 to ...

became Interim Secretary-General of the PCT. In the

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on 24 June and 5 August 2007, the PCT won 46 seats; although it was again the largest party, the fractionalization of the political landscape ensured that it fell well short of a parliamentary majority. The combined parties of the Presidential Majority supporting Sassou Nguesso won an overwhelming majority: 125 out of 137 seats. After the election, a large grouping of parties, including the PCT, was launched in December 2007: the

Rally of the Presidential Majority Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

(RMP). While the member parties of the RMP preserved their distinct identities, the grouping provided for some degree of consolidation and improved organization among Sassou Nguesso's supporters. In the 2008 local elections, the RMP parties ran joint candidate lists. At the PCT's Sixth Extraordinary Congress, held in Brazzaville in July 2011, Pierre Ngolo was elected as Secretary-General of the PCT.Joël Nsoni
"Denis Sassou Nguesso aux congressistes du P.c.t : «Les élections ne se gagnent pas dans les bureaux. Elles se gagnent sur le terrain»"
''La Semaine Africaine'', 30 July 2011 . His election as Secretary-General was considered surprising.
''Jeune Afrique'', 1 September 2011 . It had been widely expected that the post would go to a more prominent figure, but Sassou Nguesso chose Ngolo, reportedly viewing him as a skilled organizer and as relatively uncontroversial. He was reportedly viewed as a "man of compromise": "an open conservative, anxious to preserve the identity of the party, while understanding the need for change". In the July–August 2012 parliamentary election, the PCT won a parliamentary majority for the first time in the multiparty era, obtaining 89 out of 139 seats."Congo ruling party wins majority in parliament"
AFP, 7 August 2012."Élections législatives – PCT 89 sièges, Indépendants 12, Upads 7, MCDDI 7, autres partis 20"
, ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 9 August 2012 . The party has since remained the largest in the National Assembly, increasing its share of seats both in the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

parliamentary elections.

Membership

The party had about 70,000 members in 1990; by 2005, it had about 250,000 members.Emmanuel Mbengue
"La direction du Parti Congolais du Travail s'ouvre aux jeunes et aux femmes"
, ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 30 December 2006 .

Electoral history

Presidential elections

National Assembly elections

References

External links

* {{Authority control Labour parties Parties of one-party systems Formerly ruling communist parties Political parties established in 1969 Political parties in the Republic of the Congo Social democratic parties in Africa Communism in the Republic of the Congo 1969 establishments in the Republic of the Congo