BRAZZAVILLE, March 15 (Xinhua) -- More than three million registered voters in the Republic of the Congo are heading to the polls on Sunday for the country's presidential election, with polling stations open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.
According to a decree by the Ministry of Interior, 6,620 polling stations have been set up across 4,011 centers in the 15 departments that make up the country.
A total of seven candidates are in the running, including incumbent President Denis Sassou N'Guesso. Under the electoral law, the president is elected by direct universal suffrage in a two-round majority system.
Incumbent President Denis Sassou N'Guesso, 82, is running for a fifth consecutive term under the banner of the Presidential Majority, a coalition comprising nearly 20 political parties.
Other candidates include Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou, a member of parliament and the leader of "The Chain" party, who is running for the fifth time since 2002. Anguios Nganguia Engambe, president of the Party for Action of the Republic, is competing for the fourth consecutive time since 2009.
According to media analysis, while six candidates are standing against Sassou N'Guesso, the main opposition is divided and largely absent, leaving him set to win another five-year term.
Observation missions from the International Organization of the Francophonie and the African Union have arrived in Brazzaville. ■