Voters in the Republic of Congo are heading to the polls Sunday, to cast their ballots for a new president following a call by the opposition leader to boycott. 

Andre Milongo, who officially withdrew from the election on Saturday, says the government of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso has not met conditions for a fair election and urged his supporters to boycott the vote. He is the third candidate to pull out of the first round of presidential balloting. The second round is scheduled for April 7. 

Congo's national electoral commission is reported to have said that all the opposition's demands have been met. Mr. Milongo, however, says observers from opposition parties are not being allowed to watch the voting at all polling places. He also complains that separate ballot papers are being used for each candidate, instead of a single ballot sheet listing all candidates. 

Mr. Milongo is one of six challengers to the incumbent president, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who took power in a 1997 military coup. 

President Sassou-Nguesso first rose to power in an earlier military coup, in 1979. He was voted out of office in 1992, the last previous presidential election in the Republic of Congo. The country was swept by civil war after the coup that returned Mr. Sassou-Nguesso to power five years ago. A cease-fire accord has been in effect since late 1999. 

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.

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