Voting in the Democratic Republic of Congo's high-stakes presidential election has been marred by lengthy delays at polling stations.

Long queues were seen at many polling stations in the capital, Kinshasa, and other cities as they opened about two hours late. Ballot papers were delivered at the last minute.

Election officials said voting would be extended into Thursday in some areas.

President Félix Tshisekedi is pitted against 18 candidates.

Some 44 million people are eligible to cast their ballots in Thursday's election, following a campaign dominated by worsening insecurity in the mineral-rich east.

DR Congo is roughly four times the size of France, but lacks basic infrastructure - even some of its main cities are not linked by road.

The UN, Egypt and neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville helped fly election material to remote areas.

Polls had been due to open at 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT in Goma; 05:00 GMT in Kinshasa), and close after 11 hours. But mass delays were reported in a number of cities.

One woman in Kinshasa told the BBC she had had to fight inside the polling in order to be able to vote. "There was chaos," she said. "I was trampled under foot."

The head of the country's Independent National Electoral Commission (Ceni), Denis Kadima, later said that voting would be extended in the affected areas but that all polling stations should be open for at least the designated 11 hours.

"We can even go the next day. The principle is that no Congolese should be left aside," Mr Kadima told Politico.cd.

He also confirmed that there were at least 3,244 attempts at hacking the institution's computer systems.

In the north-eastern town of Bunia, people who had previously fled the violence and couldn't travel back to their home villages to vote expressed their anger by attacking a polling station and destroying voting machines before police restored order.

There are some places where voting is not taking place at all because of rebel activity.

The Ceni is expected to announce provisional results on 31 December.

DR Congo sits on vast reserves of cobalt, currently a vital part of many lithium batteries, seen as essential to a future free of fossil fuels.

Among those challenging President Tshisekedi are wealthy mining magnate Moïse Katumbi and former oil executive Martin Fayulu, who believes that he won the last election in 2018, the result of which was questioned by several international observers.

But the peaceful transfer of power, the first in the country's history, following that poll became a source of optimism that the country had turned a corner.

For the first time, Congolese nationals living in five other countries - including South Africa and former colonial power Belgium - are able to cast their ballots.

As before, the winner will be the candidate with the most votes, with no run-off if they fail to cross the 50% mark. The large number of challengers to Mr Tshisekedi could work to his advantage, as it may divide opposition support.

Voters are also choosing parliamentary, provincial and municipal representatives - with about 100,000 candidates in total - in this huge country, which stretches some 2,000km (1,400 miles) west to east.

There are more than 175,000 polling booths. The electoral commission, with the help of UN peacekeepers, began delivering voting material in far-flung areas about two months ago because of the poor transport network.

In the east, insecurity has dominated the run-up to the polls.

Dozens of armed groups have been competing to control parts of the region, home to much of the country's vast mineral wealth.

The presence of a UN peacekeeping force, an East African regional force and Congolese soldiers has not quelled the violence, which has resulted in about seven million people being forced from their homes. Many of those have not been able to register to vote, in what some criticised as a chaotic registration process.

The perennial insecurity in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu has been a major campaign issue, with presidential candidates making lofty promises to end it.

Political violence in the run-up to the polls has also been a source of concern.

On the eve of the vote, the European Union said it was worried about "the hate speech, violence and incidents that have marked the last few days". There have been some deadly incidents, causing Mr Katumbi to briefly suspend his campaign.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by Emery Makumeno | BBC News, Kinshasa

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