Voting for the second round of the legislative elections in the Republic of Congo ended peacefully on Sunday evening across the national territory, a source from the National Commission for Organization of Elections (CONEL) said.

Different polling stations closed at 6:00 pm local time.

Generally, the voting exercise was conducted normally although the voters did not turn out in large numbers to cast their ballots, just as it happened during the first round.

In Brazzaville, in two polling stations within the fifth district at Ouenzo, out of the 971 registered voters, only 152 voters turned out to cast their ballots at the Salvation Army Church. Similarly, out of the 897 registered voters, only 97 voters turned out to vote at the National Conference College.

African Union observers said that the voting exercise went on without any major incident.

A total of 140 candidates were contesting for the 70 remaining seats in the next parliament which will have 139 seats.

However, the voting exercise did not take place in three constituencies within the capital, Brazzaville, where an explosion at the arms depot took place on March 4.

For the second round of legislative polls, the victory of the ruling Congolese Labor Party (PCT) is almost certain. In the first round when 66 parliamentarians were elected, PCT was ahead with 55 seats. The opposition obtained only one seat.

Vote counting began immediately after the closing of the polling stations and the official results are expected to be released within 48 hours.

In the Republic of Congo, members of parliament are always elected through direct suffrage for a five-year term which is renewable.