Voters went to the polls in legislative elections in the oil-rich Republic of Congo on Sunday, the first since a violence-marred presidential poll last year which returned Denis Sassou Nguesso to power.
The first round of polling to elect National Assembly members as well as local councils is taking place with the opposition calling foul, accusing the ruling Congolese Labour Party (PCT) of giving its candidates an unfair advantage.
Electoral officials said voting was nevertheless proceeding calmly although some polling stations opened more than a hour late because of a delay in receiving voting materials.
Henri Bouka, head of the National Election Commission (CNEI), said that “for the moment all is going well” but that voter turnout so far was low.
“We hope that as the day goes on we will see a greater number of voters,” he added.
However, an incident was reported in the northern town of Kelle where opposition protesters briefly took away the ballot boxes, a local resident who gave his name only as Antoine told AFP by phone.
“The ballot boxes have been returned after a lot of negotiation,” he said, adding that one protester was beaten up by police but that his injuries were not life-threatening.
Sassou Nguesso returned to office in March 2016 after a constitutional referendum ended a two-term presidential term limit, amid deadly violence notably in the Pool region neighbouring the capital Brazzaville.
The 73-year-old president’s PCT is running 128 candidates for the 151 seats available, while several independents have close ties to the party.
The main parliamentary opposition group, the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS), has put forward 43 candidates, compared to 31 run by the UDH-Yuki group of Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who came second in the presidentials last year.
But an opposition coalition has said it will only take part under certain circumstances, including “the end of the crisis in Pool and the release of all political prisoners”.
Two leaders of the coalition, Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and Andre Okombi Salissa, were arrested and jailed in June 2016 and in January “for threatening the internal security of the state”.
Django Cissoko, head of a 50-strong African Union observer mission, said on Friday that “campaigning has been carried out normally.”
But UPADS spokesman Daniel Tsoumou Ngouaka said the ruling party had the upper hand. “It’s a one-way campaign because the PCT has controlled all the state media, leaving no space for others,” he said.
“The PCT drew on public funds for the campaign of its candidates and its allies. It’s unacceptable,” added Christophe Moukoueke, spokesman for a collective of opposition parties which has called for a boycott of Sunday’s polls.
Sassou Nguesso, a former paratrooper, served as president from 1979 to 1992, returning to power in 1997 following a civil war. He won two successive terms in elections in 2002 and 2009, both of which were disputed by opposition parties.
Congo has substantial deposits of oil, timber and diamonds, but oil production remains its most important economic sector, and it is the fourth biggest producer in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dwindling reserves and civil wars that have ravaged the economy has slowed growth. Almost half the population of 4.5 million people still lives in poverty, according to World Bank data.
No date has been given for the official announcement of elections results.
The second round of the legislative polls will be held on July 30.
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