Congolese cast their votes in legislative elections

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso and his wife Antoinette pick up ballots prior to voting in the first round of the parliamentary elections in Brazzaville yesterday

Congolese voters went to the polls yesterday for the first round of legislative elections expected to maintain an overwhelming majority for allies of longtime President Denis Sassou Nguesso. The oil-rich central African country has been open to multiparty politics since 1991 but wracked by two civil wars in which Sassou Nguesso, an army colonel who first came to power in 1979, played a prominent role. Voting got off to a late start in some parts of Brazzaville. “There were some polling stations that had equipment problems, but everything is getting back on track,” election commission chief Henri Bouka told AFP. Official results are due to be announced today.