Congo votes in extended election while opposition demands a repeat

After polling places that didn’t open the day before were given an extension by the authorities, the Democratic Republic of the Congo held its second day of voting on Thursday, amid chaos and some violent incidents.

Election day in the second-biggest nation in Africa was marred on Wednesday by equipment malfunctions and multiple delivery delays of election kits. While violence caused chaos in other places, people also had difficulty finding their names on registers.

Five contenders for president have also called for a rerun, rejecting the election commission’s (CENI) decision to extend the vote.

At stake is not just the legitimacy of the next administration. Congolese election disputes often spark violent unrest with potentially far-reaching consequences. Congo is the world’s third-largest copper producer, and the top producer of cobalt, a battery component needed for the green transition.

Early on Thursday in Kabare in Congo’s restive eastern region, 21-year-old Jean Claude Irenge Kalumuna was among the first residents to cast his vote, after leaving the polling station disappointed on Wednesday.

“It makes me happy because yesterday I left here angry,” Kalumuna said. “I condemn this way of operating by the CENI with all this disorder, which proves that they were not ready, but they led people to believe that everything was ready.”

Throughout Wednesday, observers flagged delays or failures opening polling stations and other issues, including malfunctioning electronic voting systems.

Speaking to reporters in the capital Kinshasa after polls were meant to have closed on Wednesday, CENI president Denis Kadima acknowledged that many polling stations across the country had opened late and some not at all.

He said that the delays would not affect the credibility of the process.

In a joint statement late on Wednesday, the five opposition candidates, including top challengers Martin Fayulu and Nobel Laureate Denis Mukwege, said the commission had no constitutional or legal right to extend the vote.

They demanded “the reorganisation of these failed elections by a differently structured CENI” and at a date agreed by all stakeholders.

The tumult of election day followed a campaign marred by political violence and repeated warnings from the opposition and observers about a lack of transparency. Their concerns included issues with the voter list and illegible ID cards.

But for months, the electoral commission rejected the opposition’s allegations of mismanagement and fraud. It insisted it could deliver a free and fair vote as promised, even as critics flagged irregularities they said would jeopardise the legitimacy of the results.

(with inputs from Reuters)