The election to pick the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) next president will not happen before early 2019, the electoral commission said on Wednesday, a delay that raises fresh security worries in the vast African nation. Polls were due this year under a transitional deal aimed at avoiding fresh political bloodshed after President Joseph Kabila refused to step down when his second mandate ended in December. But the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said on Wednesday that it would need another 504 days to prepare for the vote after the completion of an electoral census, which is far from accomplished in the restive Kasai region. The delay could be reduced "if we accept using voting machines and if we change the electoral law", a commission spokesman told AFP. The polls have been repeatedly pushed back and CENI said in July it would not be possible to hold a nationwide vote this year due to ongoing security issues, particularly in the Kasai area. Activists in the n...
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