 A joint technical committee was to oversee the implementation of the agreement.About 40 opposition parties chose to boycott the election, seeking a new, independent electoral commission and a later date for the election.Parties that said they would participate in the election included the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS) of former President Pascal Lissouba and the Union for Democracy and the Republic (UDR-Mwinda) of former Prime Minister André Milongo.