DRC Polls: Elections postponed in three cities ignites outrage

In a sore turnout of events in Congo, voters in three Congolese cities known as anti-government strongholds have been excluded from Sunday’s presidential elections with the polls postponed till March 2019.

The DRC electoral commission gave reasons for the postponement as Ebola Outbreak in those areas as well as ethnic clashes.

Voters in one of the affected cities, Beni have staged a planned protest against this ‘unfair treatment’.

This election is set to mark the first democratic power transfer from Joseph Kabila.

The elections – also incorporating legislative and provincial polls – were originally meant to take place in 2016. They have been repeatedly postponed since, sparking violence in which security forces have killed dozens of people.

The CENI pushed the election date back by seven more days last week due to delays in deploying voting materials.

Explaining the three exclusions, it said on Wednesday: “Elections lead to important movements of voters toward polling places, thus … raising the risk of propagation of this disease (Ebola) and providing the conditions for terrorist attacks.”