Warnings to DR Congo mount as election deadline looms

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Europe and Africa heaped pressure on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) on Friday, urging it to respect voters' wishes in key presidential elections as a deadline for unveiling the outcome loomed.

Expectations are mounting that the electoral overseers will delay publication of provisional results due by Sunday - a move likely to add to tensions in the unstable country.

The European Union called on the authorities "to ensure the upcoming results conform with the Congolese people's vote". And the African Union made a similar appeal as Faki Mahamat, AU Commission chief, tweeted that "Respect of the election results is crucial".

The elections held last Sunday, which had been delayed three times, were called to choose a successor to President Joseph Kabila, who is at the helm of sub-Saharan Africa's biggest country for nearly 18 years.

A voter uses an electronic voting machine to cast his ballot at a polling station in a school in the Ndjili district in Kinshasa, DR Congo, December 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

Polling day went ahead relatively peacefully by the country's standards.

But some opposition campaigners fear the result may be rigged to favor Kabila's preferred successor, hardline former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who is facing two strong opposition competitors: Martin Fayulu, a former oil executive who entered politics and Emmanuel Tshisekedi, head of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the country's oldest and largest opposition party.

In the run-up to the election, Western powers repeatedly urged the count to be conducted accurately, transparently and expediently.

But on Thursday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said it had collected only about a fifth of the results.

Presidential candidate Martin Fayulu, 1st from right, arrives to cast his vote at the Institute de la Gombe polling station during DR Congo's general elections in Kinshasa, DR Congo, December 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

CENI blamed massive logistical problems in a country the size of continental Western Europe but with poor infrastructure.

It indicated that it may have to postpone publication of provisional results -- due to be published by Sunday, followed by the definitive results on January 15 and the presidential inauguration three days later.

The election was delayed several times as Kabila held on to power rather than stepping down at the end of 2016.

Source(s): AFP