Congo Brazzaville's voters head for the polls on July 12 to elect a new president.

Among the 10 expected candidates is the incumbent, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who announced his candidature last Saturday at a huge gathering assembled for the purpose, reports the Ouagadougou newspaper, L'Observateur Paalga.

The race is one which, analysts say, has already been won by Sassou-Nguesso, given the huge resources, both human and material, at his disposal - including both state resources and the massive wealth he has siphoned into foreign bank accounts.

Sassou-Nguesso has been in power for 25 years, with a gap of five years, and like his son-in-law, the late President Omar Bongo of neighbouring Gabon, is not one of those who thinks of life after the presidency.

He took power in a coup in 1979 and ruled for 13 years until multi-party elections brought Pascal Lissouba to the helm. He returned to power in 1997 after Lissouba was overthrown in a civil war.

Though his victory in this election would not come as a surprise, Sassou-Nguesso is faced with some tough candidates, among them Joachim Yhombi-Opango, himself head of state from 1977 to 1979 and Lissouba's prime minister from 1993 to 1996. There is also Bernard Kolélas, who also served as Lissouba's prime minister in 1997. Other candidates are  Charles David Ganao and the intellectual Théophile Obenga.

Adapted and translated from the original French reports by Michael Tantoh.