The Congo Republic held the second round of parliamentary elections today but many voters in the capital, Brazzaville, stayed away, shaken by fighting last week which left scores dead.
Polling booths began shutting up after a quiet day and some voters said they were disillusioned by the return of violence to the capital after several years of stability.
"I don't even want to hear people talk about voting in this country, where those in charge have no concern at all for the population," said Mr Norbert Mbani.
"My house was burned down by [rebels]. Who is going to compensate me? Nobody, so why should I bother going to vote?" he said.
The party of President Denis Sassou Nguessou, which took a commanding lead in the first round by winning 29 of the 51 seats decided outright, was expected to win a hefty majority in the central African country's 137-member assembly. Most of the other seats decided went to members of a pro-government coalition.
The country, which borders the much bigger Democratic Republic of Congo, is a substantial oil producer and stands to benefit from heavy new investment in deep offshore reserves.
But it has suffered from inter-ethnic violence and Sassou is seeking to consolidate his power in the first general election since he seized power in a 1997 civil war. About 100 people died just over a week ago when rebels known as the Ninjas attacked the airport in the worst fighting in Brazzaville for four years.
Congo's two opposition figureheads, Mr Pascal Lissouba and Mr Bernard Kolelas, both live in exile and would face prison if they returned to the former French colony.
Because of the troubles, second-round voting will not take place in eight constituencies, leaving 78 seats to be decided by today's runoffs - required in those constituencies where no candidate secured more than 50 percent in the first round. Today's poor turnout appeared to be due to a variety of factors, including stiffer identification rules for voters, the disqualification of several candidates after the first round and fear of returning to parts of the capital worst hit by fighting.
"For the second round, I haven't been to vote because I don't have a national identity card," said Brazzaville teacher Ms Clementine Mabiala.
Some Congolese only have flimsy slips of paper attesting to their nationality after the authorities stopped printing full-blown identity cards nearly five years ago.
Some younger voters said the success of ruling party stalwarts in the first round had dented their enthusiasm. "I preferred to stay at home. Why vote if it's always the same ones who come back, and who are still there," said Mr Luc Mbila (27). "I voted in the first round as I was hoping for change."