Voting for the presidential election in the Republic of Congo proceeded peacefully on Sunday, authorities said.
The voting began at 7.00 a.m. (local time) and will last until 6.00 p.m., according to the Congolese Minister of the Interior, Raymond Mboulou, who announced the details of the presidential election on national television.
The polling stations opened a little later than initially planned because of the rains.
About 2.5 million registered voters can vote among seven candidates, including the outgoing president Denis Sassou Nguesso.
Advance voting for the military ended on March 17 to ensure the security of the polling day on Sunday.
The internet was cut nationwide a few hours before the vote.
But phone calls and text messages are not down as they were in 2016.
The results are expected in two or three days.
The main opponent of the outgoing president and unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2016, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, was hospitalised on the eve of the vote after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
His campaign manager announced that he would go to France for treatment.
The President of the Congo is elected for a five-year term with absolute majority and a second-round between the two candidates with the highest votes is needed if no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round.
The outgoing President Nguesso is running for a 5th consecutive term since 1997. (Xinhua/NAN)
