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Congo-Brazzaville: Electoral Fiasco Upsets Voters
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26 June 2007
Posted to the web 26 June 2007
Milena Mikael-Debass
Major voting irregularities marred the first round of parliamentary elections in Congo-Brazzaville Sunday.
The BBC reported that 40 opposition parties boycotted the election and are now appealing for a delay in further voting procedures.
President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and his wife voted early on Sunday morning, but voters in some districts were forced to wait until later in the day because polling workers failed to show up on time, Agence France Press reported.
Voting was also delayed in many parts of the country due to voting cards that were incorrectly processed. In some places, names of ineligible voters, including children and dead citizens, appeared on voter registration lists.
Voting in rural areas was particularly difficult. Some polling stations did not receive ballot boxes, papers and other supplies. Radio France International reported that that the voting in certain constituencies, including the Niari, Kouilou and the Plateau region, might be annulled.
Voters in urban constituencies such as Poto-Poto and Bacongo told Agence France Presse that they were angry at the disorganized manner in which the elections were conducted.
Following the polls, elections monitor Roger Awoko, the head of Congo's OCDH (L’Observatoire Congolais des Droits de l’Homme) human rights organization said, "We can talk about incompetence, but we can also talk about a deliberate attempt not to organize good elections."
On April 24, 2007, opposition parties and civil society organizations called for the formation of an independent electoral commission. Their demands were not heeded, however, and legislative elections are being conducted by a commission appointed by the president.
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The electoral commission says it will take at least a week to finalize the results.
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