by Tai Beiping

    BRAZZAVILLE, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The Republic of the Congo is to hold presidential election on Sunday, and incumbent President Denis Sassou-Nguesso is seen as the top hopeful in the race.

    Looking around the streets of capital Brazzaville, campaign posters of Sassou's can be seen everywhere, while the other 12 candidates are rarely advertized in public places.

    Luc Roger-Mbala, chief editor of the Observer newspaper in the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), said the election in Republic of Congo is important in central and western Africa, and he regarded Sassou as the most possible winner.

    "This is a very important political event in the region and media organizations in neighboring DRC are very much interested in this poll. I see President Sassou as the number one hopeful candidate," Mbala said.

    In the meantime, he said that the other 12 candidates don't have enough support to challenge Sassou. The chief editor also mentioned that as the president, Sassou has lots of resources to publicize himself so as to ensure success in winning re-election.

    These remarks were evidenced in a campaign rally here on Friday. Thousands of Sassou supporters gathered in the boulevard in front of the parliament to demonstrate their support for Sassou.

    Speaking to the crowd, Sassou said peace is the most important thing for the nation, and peace is the foundation of national development. He also pledged to put social and economic development as top priorities if he could successfully win re-election.

    In contrast to the huge party at Sassou's campaign rally, the other candidates seem to be more silent.

    However, six of the other 12 candidates on Friday called on the public to boycott the election, claimed that President Sassou had too much resources at hand and the election was not a fair one.

    In response to this, Election Committee President Henri Bouka called on all voters to go to the polling stations on Sunday, saying that voting rights are inscribed in the constitution and no one should be deprived of that.

    Bouka added that all preparation work had been done and the Sunday poll would proceed as planned. He also said the election would be a secure and fair one.

    The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.

    The country is rich in petroleum and forestry resources and these two sectors are key contributors to its economy.

    The republic is a former French colony, French is the official language while a number of local languages are also used. It has a population of some four million, while around two million are registered as voters.