This weekend’s crucial presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been delayed.
Presidential candidates for the election were called into a meeting on Thursday by the country’s electoral commission (CENI).
The commission according to some of the candidates that spoke to Reuters was unable to organise the ballot on time for the poll.
One of the Candidates, Theodore Ngoy is reported by Reuters to have said that the CENI president Corneille Nangaa says his outfit was “technically unable” to carry through the election on Sunday.
Ngoy revealed that the commission cited the destruction of ballot papers by fire last week, an ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern regions and ethnic violence this week in the northwest as the main reasons for the delay.
Problems with vote materials led to protests carried out by university students in the capital Kinshasa.
Officials now say the election will take place on December 30.
La CENI est dans l’incapacité technique d’organiser les élections ce dimanche 23 Décembre. Un report de quelques jours est envisagé.
— Seth Kikuni (@sethkikuni) December 20, 2018
Sunday’s vote was supposed to be the first time DR Congo is to witness a peaceful transfer of power through an election.
The elections will take place without President Joseph Kabila which was supposed to ease tension. But the delay rather could spark further tension.
Source: Africafeeds.com
