DRC Voting Extended to Tuesday After Violence, Late Delivery of Ballots

[ellisonz]

Source: Voice of America


Supporters of oppositions candidate Etienne Tshisekedi parade what they claim are badly printed fraudulent photocopies of election ballots
Photo: AP/Jerome Delay

Scott Stearns | Kinshasa

Presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being extended into Tuesday in areas where people were unable to vote because of violence or because ballots were delivered late.

Where voting ended more or less on schedule, electoral officials emptied ballot boxes and started the vote count.

At one polling station in Kinshasa's Gombe neighborhood, legislative ballots the size of small newspapers were stacked on the floor as party monitors counted along with poll workers under the light of a small, battery-powered lantern.

But some polling stations ran out of ballots. Others failed to open because no electoral materials were delivered. In those cases, Congo's electoral commission says voting will continue on Tuesday.


Read more: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/DRC-Voting-Extended-to-Tuesday-After-Violence-Late-Delivery-of-Ballots-134643203.html

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Not looking good...

The scene is set for bloodshed. One of Kabila’s aides has referred to critics of the regime as mosquitoes requiring insecticide, according to Human Rights Watch. Security forces have attacked opposition supporters for wearing political T-shirts, and pro-Kabila thugs firebombed the main opposition party’s headquarters. On Saturday, rival factions hurled rocks at each other, gunfire was heard across Kinshasa, and two people were killed in pre-vote clashes.

Deprived of any fair chance of a victory and incapable of uniting with other groups opposed to Kabila, the main opposition presidential candidate, Etienne Tshisekedi of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress party, has already declared himself the true president and for months has been urging supporters to prepare for an "Arab Spring"-styled revolt.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/international/africa/view/20111127in_congo_election_the_outcome_is_certain_and_violence_is_likely/

[Odin2005]

1. My god, Kabila is using the same retoric as the genocidals in Rwanda did!

:scared:

[ellisonz]

2. I have an old friend in the DRC doing soil sciences research.

Praying for peace!

"Just went on three-day extension trip, going around to villages and taking soil samples. it was really fun! the best part was that elections are coming up and there are over 300 candidates from our region, so in every village we went through everyone was out waving palm branches and flags and yelling DEPUTEE! DEPUTEE!
Like · · Share · Saturday at 7:31am ·"

:grouphug: