Republic of Congo votes in 2nd round of legislative elections

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Voters in the Republic of Congo on Sunday went to the polls to elect lawmakers in the second and final round of legislative elections.

The elections are taking place in 25 constituencies across the country, the electoral commission said.

Polls opened at around 8 a.m. (0700GMT), with vote counting set to start when polls close at 6 p.m. (1700GMT).

Henri Bouka, head of the electoral commission, said he expected “a free and fair election without violence.”

The Congolese Labor Party has 14 candidates contesting Sunday’s election.

The first round of the legislative elections took place on July 10, and it was won by the Congolese Labor Party of President Denis Sassou Nguesso, with 102 seats out of the 151 seats in the assembly.

The country's leading opposition party, the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy, won four seats in the first round and fielded four candidates in the second round, while the UDH-YUKI, another opposition party, won three seats in the first round and fronted seven candidates in the second.

Nguesso, 78, has ruled the country for 37 years. He amended the constitution in 2015 to extend term limits and last year was reelected with 88% of the vote.

With 101 lawmakers, the Congolese Labor Party holds the majority of lawmakers in the outgoing assembly.

Roughly 2.8 million Congolese voters were registered to take part in the election, but reports said the first round was marked by low turnout.