Voters in the oil-exporting Central African state of Congo Republic have turned out to elect a new parliament, with the ruling party of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and its allies seen holding the majority. Opposition parties have complained about a lack of access to state media during campaigning, and voter turnout was thin at a number of polling stations in the capital Brazzaville, some of which stayed open up to two hours late during the voting on Sunday. The ruling Congolese Workers’ Party (PCT) and a cluster of allied parties control all but a dozen of the nearly 140 seats in the lower house after the opposition boycotted the last poll in 2007, accusing the government of vote rigging.
Gaspard Kaya Magane, vice-president of the main UPADS opposition group, accused candidates allied to the government of using state media and resources to dominate the campaign for these elections, an accusation Nguesso rejected. “I believe that the instructions I gave for fair, free and transparent elections have been followed because they passed peacefully across the country. That is a step in the right direction,” Nguesso said as he voted in Brazzaville.
Nguesso came to power in a 1997 coup and has won two elections since then, including a 2009 presidential vote marked by accusations of fraud. A constitutional limit on presidential terms means he must step down in 2016, although some opposition groups say they believe his party will seek to change that.
Full Article: Republic of Congo holds parliamentary polls – Africa – Al Jazeera English.
