Congo Postpones Sunday’s Presidential Election
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Democratic Republic of Congo’s election board has postponed a presidential vote scheduled for Sunday by one week until Dec. 30 after a fire destroyed voting materials.
Already delayed repeatedly since 2016, the poll is meant to choose a successor to President Joseph Kabila, who is to step down after 18 years in what would be Congo’s first democratic transition.
After a meeting with candidates in the capital, the electoral commission (CENI) said it had not been able to provide sufficient ballot papers for Kinshasa after a warehouse blaze last week destroyed much of the capital’s election material.
“We cannot organise general elections without the province of Kinshasa, and without the Kinois voters – who represent 10 percent of the electoral body,” CENI president Corneille Nangaa told journalists.
“The presidential, legislative and provincial ballots will take place on Dec. 30 2018.”
The decision may stoke already high tensions after several government crackdowns on opposition rallies.
After the announcement, a crowd outside CENI headquarters started shouting in protest and were pushed back by police.
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