Summary:
- Leading opposition candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential election raised concerns about “chaos” and “irregularities,” expressing dissatisfaction with the organization and fairness of the voting process during the concurrent presidential, parliamentary, and provincial elections.
Leading opposition candidates in DR Congo’s presidential election complained that voters faced “chaos” and “irregularities” as they tried to cast their ballots in Wednesday’s general elections.
“It’s total chaos, there’s no organisation,” said Martin Fayulu, an opposition candidate and former oil executive, after voting in the centre of the capital, Kinshasa.
“We’re waiting for all voters to cast their ballots, otherwise we won’t accept these elections,” he warned.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo is holding concurrent presidential, parliamentary and provincial votes.
Denis Mukwege, another leading opposition candidate and the winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with rape victims, also said the election was “riddled with irregularities” after he cast his ballot.
“If we find that these irregularities are huge, we are not going to accept that the population is placed in a position” of not being able to elect its leaders, he said at a polling station in Kinshasa.
Moise Katumbi, a wealthy businessman and former provincial governor who is considered the leading opposition candidate, made a similar remark after voting in his southeastern stronghold of Lubumbashi.
“We have seen many irregularities since this morning in the polling stations,” he told reporters, asking voters to keep a watchful eye on the process until the end.
President Felix Tshisekedi, 60, who is standing for re-election, came to power after a disputed vote in 2018 which some observers said Fayulu had won.
On Wednesday, voters at some polling stations said they had been waiting for hours.
The electoral commission was continuing to deliver voting materials throughout the morning.
AFP reporters in Kinshasa and the cities of Goma, Beni, Lubumbashi and Tshikapa witnessed delays and other problems.
