With more than two years may delay the Congolese today finally go to the polls. They choose not only a new president but also a new national parliament, and new provincieraden. The results will be on January 15, is expected, and the new president is on January 18, ingezworen, though it is very the question of whether everything is so lubricated will expire. The elections have a very difficult course. The first provisional results will be on January 6, expected.
At five o’clock this morning local time, the first ballot boxes in the east of the country opened, for example, journalists of nieuwsbureau AFP fixed in Goma and Lubumbashi. the
In Lubumbashi were the first voters, members of the independent national electoral commission (Céni). Then it was up to the ‘witnesses’, the observers of the political parties, reports a team of AFP from an electoral council in the Imara college.
Read also the Congolese choose tomorrow’s successor, Kabila. In three cities only in march voted to be but the new president explains, however, already in January, oath
Outgoing president Joseph Kabila and the man that he and his successor has indicated, Emmanuel Ramazani, have their voice already released in the capital, Kinshasa. “I think that the victory is on my side,” said Ramazani. “From tonight I will be, I think, already president of the republic.”
Laborious ballot
this Morning was capital city of Kinshasa was a tough storm to process, which many of the streets are flooded and the voters more difficult found their way to the polling stations. Outgoing president Joseph Kabila and his ‘dauphin’ Emmanuel Ramazani were well early of the party. “I call on the population to the rain, to defy and to get votes,” said Kabila. Ramazani said that he thinks that the victory is on his side.
Also oppositiekandidaat Martin Fayulu, that in the same polling station had to vote, is already sure of the victory. “Today we are going to the misery and the dictatorship of Kabila to end.” Felix Tshisekedi, the other serious contender among the democratic opposition candidates, agree later in the day elsewhere in Kinshasa.
From many towns and cities through the social media posts about problems with the voter register, which the registered voters of their name, and the batteries of the voting computers in different places are already empty. Some voting computers are also not to get it, on Twitter reported. In the district of Limete in the capital, a stronghold of Tshisekedi’s UDPS, came to the electoral roll only shortly after noon. It was Corneille Nangaa, chairman of the electoral commission, the electoral rolls came, and booed by the mass opgedaagde voters.
Bribing voters
apart from that, there are also rumors about the intimidation of voters or observers by the army, and about the bribery of voters. And even if everything works, there are long queues because of the use of the voice response computer not everyone is equally evident. The election commission had in advance calculated on 90 seconds per voter, but activists and journalists on the spot noted that this almost always takes longer, up to even three minutes. Many also need help in the voting. Also in the countryside there would be plenty of problems, but that news seeps more and more difficult.
The Cenco got on the afternoon, six hours after the polling stations were opened, from 12.300 polling reports submitted by its observers. They report more 846 polling stations in “forbidden places”, such as politiekantoren and partijkantoren. In 1.543 agencies, there were incidents, such as so “dysfunctional” voting computers, refuse access to observers (115 offices), or voters try to bribe (44 agencies).
The past few weeks, in the run-up to the elections, ran the thoughts of those in the Congo to a high level. Violence in the margins of the campaign fell, throughout the country, at least ten dead.
Three times postponed
The elections were already three times postponed. It is expected that the elections may lead to violence. the
The vote is done with the South Korean voting machines, but there is little trust that the voting fair election results. Also other conditions for a fair conduct of the elections seem to be not exactly fulfilled. Because the electoral commission is not ready in time, were the elections last week, with a week delayed.
in Addition, three towns (Beni, Butembo and and Yumbi), where the opposition is strong, only in march elections. The new president is already in January ingezworen. But in protest against the postponement organizes the population in Beni itself elections.
the First democratic change of power since independence
The presidential elections and demands all the attention, because for the first time since independence from Belgium in 1960 to a democratic change of power must lead. The party of outgoing president Joseph Kabila appointed Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary as its candidate, and that it will have to compete against twenty other candidates.
