The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) postponed the presidential election, formerly scheduled for Sunday, by one week after a fire destroyed voting materials, a senior adviser to the outgoing President Joseph Kabila, who is also a communications team member of Kabila’s preferred successor, told Reuters Thursday.
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More Than 100 Killed in Clashes Days Before DR Congo Elections
The vote has already been repeatedly delayed since 2016, the poll is meant to choose a successor to President Kabila who is stepping down after 18 years in power. If successful, the election would be Congo's first democratic transition of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.
In recent days, more than 100 people have died in clashes between rival ethnic groups in the northwestern region, local activists said Wednesday.
"Today we have identified almost 120 deaths, and there are 71 others wounded in the hospital," a local activist, Bango, told Reuters.
The fighting has become some of the worst to hit the normally peaceful area in years, coming days before the long-delayed presidential, legislative and provincial election, which many have feared could turn violent.
The situation has been further compromised by the second-largest Ebola outbreak in the region, which the country and international health organizations have been grappling with for months. The outbreak is localized in Congo's eastern region, where an armed conflict between military forces and rebel groups is unfolding.
In recent months, protests demanding the president’s exit from office have claimed the lives of dozens of Congolese. There is a sense in the DRC that delaying the elections gives Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, Kabila’s handpicked favorite the opportunity to win.
The DRC, a francophone country in central Africa, endured two civil wars between 1966 and 2003 and has more than 81.34 million inhabitants, 40 million of which are expected to cast their votes. The election is now scheduled to take place Dec. 30.