Following the June–October 1997 civil war, in which Lissouba was ousted and Sassou Nguesso returned to power, Abibi was absent from Congolese politics for years. Eventually, however, he rejoined Sassou Nguesso's party, the PCT. In October 2011, he was elected to the Senate of Congo-Brazzaville as a PCT candidate in Sangha Department. In the indirect Senate election, he received 61 votes from the electors in Sangha, 87.14% of the total; this placed Abibi in a three-way tie for first place and secured him one of the six available seats for Sangha.