TIMELINE-Congo-Brazzaville holds elections

July 12 (Reuters) - Congo Republic's President Denis Sassou-Nguesso is widely expected to win another seven years in power in Sunday's presidential election.

Congo Republic, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, gained independence from France in 1960 and became a single-party Marxist state by 1968.

Here is a timeline of major events since then:

Feb./March 1979 - After a series of coups and leaders Colonel Denis Sassou-Nguesso becomes president. He is re-elected as head of the ruling Parti Congolais du Travail (PCT) and therefore president in July 1984 and July 1989.

Dec. 1990 - Following the fall of eastern European governments, the ruling PCT abandons Marxism and opposition parties are formally legalised.

March 1992 - Congo's voters give an overwhelming "Yes" to a new multi-party constitution in a referendum, putting a clear end to 28 years of one-party rule in Congo.

Aug. 1992 - Pascal Lissouba becomes Congo's first democratically elected president since independence, winning 61.3 percent of the vote, but rivals Bernard Kolelas and Sassou-Nguesso complain and establish militias.

July 1993 - Lissouba declares a 15-day state of emergency and sacks his army chief as political violence grips the country. The moves, announced by Prime Minister Yhombi-Opango, follow more than one month of political and ethnic clashes in which at least 2,000 people died.

Oct. 1997 - In the run-up to presidential elections, tension mounts between Lissouba and Sassou-Nguesso, leading to a four-month conflict that destroys much of the capital, Brazzaville. It ends on Oct. 15 when Sassou-Nguesso, helped by Angolan troops, wins control of Brazzaville, and the country's seaport city, Pointe Noire. Sassou-Nguesso declares himself president and is sworn in on Oct. 25, 1997.