Congolese run into voting problems after fraught election campaign

Kinshasa/Goma — Voters in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took part in a general election on Wednesday after a chaotic campaign marred by opposition allegations of impending fraud, electoral violence and logistical setbacks that could prevent many from voting.

Voting kicked off with delays as election kits had not arrived at some polling stations in the capital, Kinshasa, and in several towns in the restive eastern part of the country.

In Goma and Beni, in the east, some voters struggled to find their names on voter lists, which were made available at their polling stations only on Wednesday morning, according to Reuters witnesses.

“The last [election] wasn’t like this. We could find our names following an alphabetical order. But this time trying to verify your name is a headache for some of us who did not study. If we don’t get any help, we’ll go home,” resident Kahindo Katsotyo said in frustration.

For months, the CENI election commission has insisted it will deliver a free and fair vote across Africa’s second-largest country, even as independent observers and critics flag irregularities they say will jeopardise the legitimacy of the results.

“It is evident that the greatest electoral fraud of the century is taking place,” Nobel laureate and opposition candidate Denis Mukwege said on Monday.

About 44-million Congolese are registered to take part in the presidential, legislative and regional vote. As voting day neared, the authorities sought extra helicopters, raising concerns about the election commission’s ability to open polling stations in areas otherwise unreachable due to bad roads or deep insecurity.

President Felix Tshisekedi is competing against about two dozen opposition challengers in the hope of a second term running the mineral-rich yet poverty-stricken nation. “I have asked you to give me strength to continue the work that we have started,” Tshisekedi said in his final rally on Monday, promising to expand a free education policy if elected.

Opposition candidates have wooed voters with pledges to bring stability, peace and the economic development they say was absent from Tshisekedi’s first term.

They and religious and civil society electoral observers have sounded the alarm about electoral transparency, highlighting issues including with the voter list and illegible ID cards.

The CENI has repeatedly rejected the opposition’s allegations of fraud.

The election will be decided in a single round, requiring a simple majority of the vote to win. At stake is not just the legitimacy of the next administration. Congolese election disputes often spark violent unrest with potentially far-reaching consequences. The DRC is the world’s third-largest copper producer and the top producer of cobalt, a battery component needed for the green transition.

The final run-up to the vote has been particularly fraught. Two parliamentary candidates were killed in separate incidents on December 15 in a spate of election-related violence condemned by human rights groups and the EU.

Ahead of election day in Kinshasa, some locals were not convinced their vote would count. “Every time we vote, we are disappointed, but if I had to vote, it would be for a change,” said Lucie Mpiana, who is unemployed.

Polls opened at 4am GMT and will close at 4pm, with full provisional results expected by December 31.

Reuters