Off the wire
• Cote d'Ivoire president says Sunday's polls to help people forget 2010 crisis  • Foreign exchange rates in India  • 3 civilians killed, 2 UN peacekeepers injured in Mali landmine explosion  • China Exclusive: 1st Ld-Writethru: Yangzhou stripped of fried rice record after waste scandal  • Vietnamese railway officials stand trial for receiving bribery  • S.Korea offers to Japan holding bilateral summit on Nov. 2  • Feature: Japanese educators lament slackness of university students  • Spotlight: Russia, U.S. vie for influence in Mideast  • 3rd Ld-Writethru-China Headlines: CPC convenes key meeting on nation's next five-year plan  • China mulls routine navigation through Arctic to Europe  
You are here: 　 Home

Roundup: Republic of Congo's constitutional referendum characterised by low turnout

Xinhua, October 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Republic of Congo's constitutional referendum on Sunday was conducted peacefully but with a low voter turnout, election observers told Xinhua.

In the capital Brazzaville, calls by the presidential camp for a massive turnout to vote "YES" did not yield expected results in the suburbs that had been thought to be strongholds of the ruling party.

"We are happy that the plebiscite was conducted peacefully and without any ugly incidents. We condemn what happened in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire during the electoral campaigns. We urge the Congolese people to learn lessons from the past and understand that political problems cannot be resolved by violence, but through dialogue," the secretary general of the ruling party, Congolese Labour Party, Pierre Ngolo said.

In the southern and western suburbs of the capital where violent protests broke out between Oct. 20-21, majority of the population did not turn up to vote, despite the presence of electoral officials and security officers at the polling stations.

Well placed sources told Xinhua the situation was similar in the interior of the country, especially in the commercial capital Pointe Noire.

The polling stations which were opened at 7 a.m. (local time), started receiving their first voters at around 9 a.m.

Speaking after casting his vote, Repulic of Congo President Denis Sassou N'guesso hailed the Congolese people for taking their destiny in their own hands, by freely expressing themselves on the proposed constitutional amendments.

He appealed to the population to maintain peace because, according to the president, "it's because of peace that the country has made some progress."

"Today is a very important day for the Congolese people because they will show the whole world that they are free and sovereign people. And when it comes to issues touching on their lives, it is only them who can decide their destiny without being pressured by anyone else," he said.

The proposed constitution will introduce a semi-presidential regime in the country. The president will be elected for two five-year terms, instead of the current two seven-year terms.

The new Constitution will allow Sassou N'Guesso to contest for a new term after the expiry of his current second term in 2016. Endit