BRAZZAVILLE, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The campaign for the presidential election in the Republic of the Congo, scheduled for March 15, officially began on Saturday, with seven candidates competing for the country's top office for the next five years.

Portraits and posters bearing messages of support for the various candidates already line the main roads and public squares of Brazzaville, the country's capital. From Saturday until March 13, the candidates have two weeks to persuade undecided voters in hopes of securing favorable results on the ballot.

Incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso will run under the banner of the Presidential Majority, a coalition comprising nearly 20 political parties.

Other candidates include Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou, a member of parliament and the leader of "The Chain" party, who is running for the fifth time since 2002. Anguios Nganguia Engambe, president of the Party for Action of the Republic, is competing for the fourth consecutive time since 2009.

They are joined by Uphrem Dave Mafoula, who is running for the second consecutive time after the 2021 presidential election. Independent candidate Vivien Romain Manangou, Melaine Destin Gavet Elengo of the Republican Movement, and Mabio Mavoungou Zinga from the Alliance are contesting the election for the first time.

In a televised statement issued on the eve of the campaign's opening, Interior Minister Raymond Zephirin Mboulou urged all candidates to travel freely across the country to present their governance programs in strict compliance with national laws and regulations. ■