Vote counting begins in DR Congo – in election to replace Kabila

AP | Election officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) began counting ballots Sunday evening, although many polling stations stayed open into the night to make up for lengthy delays in voting.

Election observers reported multiple difficulties around the vast Central African nation, which is choosing a successor to President Joseph Kabila after his 17 years in power. The election had been delayed since late 2016, prompting the opposition to charge that Kabila was trying to stay on past his mandate.

While many polls closed in the evening, others stayed open to allow those waiting in line to cast their ballots and at least one polling station was just getting ready to open.

Among some 21 candidates, top opposition leaders Martin Fayulu and Felix Tshisekedi are challenging Kabila’s preferred successor, former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary.

At stake is a country rich in minerals including those crucial to the world’s smartphones and electric cars.

Election day in the capital, Kinshasa, began with a heavy rainstorm that flooded some streets. Kabila and Shadary voted together.

Shadary called for “peace and calm,” adding that “I am very confident in victory.” Fayulu, considered the leading candidate, later voted at the same polling station.

“Today we are writing the end of Kabila, the end of misery for Congolese people,” he said. “DR Congo will stop being the laughingstock of the world.”

An untold number of Congolese remained in line at poll-closing time, and by law would be able to vote. Although electoral officials had estimated that people could vote in under a minute, the process was taking several minutes or more per person.

Amid the delays and confusion, frustration grew. “We came to vote and there is nothing,” said voter Elvis Bolungu. “May Kabila go to hell.”