Opposition parties have complained about a lack of access to state media during campaigning and early voter turnout was thin, a Reuters reporter in the capital Brazzaville said.
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.
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 mean he must step down in 2016, although some opposition groups believe the PCT and allies will seek to change that.
Under Nguesso’s rule, Congo Republic has enjoyed a degree of stability since 1997. However in March around 200 people were killed in a blast sparked by a fire at an arms dump in Brazzaville filled with munitions left over from the civil war.
The former French colony is expecting oil production at around 288,000 barrels per day this year, worth $5 billion in revenue. The International Monetary Fund sees economic growth rising from 3.1 percent this year to over 5 percent in 2013.
BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — More than two million voters are called to the polls in the Republic of Congo to elect a new parliament.
The ruling party of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and its allies appear poised to hold their majority in Sunday’s vote.
The election of the country’s 139 lawmakers is monitored by some 60 international observers. The national election commission says some 6,000 polling stations across the Central African nation will be open throughout the day.
Sassou-Nguesso first ruled the country of some 4 million people from 1979 until a 1992 election defeat, and seized power again in 1997 with help from Angolan troops.
The United Nations ranks the country — the small neighbor to the north of Central African giant Congo — 137th out of 190 nations in its broad index measuring income and living conditions.