DRC tests voting machines that critics say will hamper credibility
Kinshasa — The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) began testing voting machines as part of a new system that civil-society groups said would undermine the credibility of long-awaited elections that seek to end the central African nation’s political crisis. The new technology will be used in the vote scheduled for December 23 to pick a successor to President Joseph Kabila. His decision to remain in office beyond the end of his final term in December 2016 has spurred protests in which dozens of people have been killed and may have further fueled rebellions in Congo’s mineral-rich east, where more than 100 armed groups operate. Civil-society group Agir pour les Elections Transparentes voiced concern over a lack of transparency around the machines’ procurement and the difficulty of operating them in a country with millions of illiterate people and unreliable electricity supplies. The system "will have an impact on the credibility of the vote because it’ll allow for fraud", spokesperson ...
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