Postponed Congo presidential vote further delayed until 2019
October 12, 2017
Congo's opposition agreed in December to postpone the presidential election until the end of 2017. But President Joseph Kabila's electoral commission has delayed it again.
Congolese President Joseph KabilaImage: picture alliance/dpa/A.Gomber
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A presidential election that had been postponed until the end of 2017 cannot take place until April 2019, an election official in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said on Tuesday. The announcement immediately sparked strong condemnation by the Congolese opposition.
Corneille Nangaa, the president of the country's electoral commission, CENI, said the delay was necessary because insurrectionist violence in the central Kasai region was impeding voter registration.
He said registration was expected to be complete by January 2018 and that officials would then need 504 days to prepare the presidential vote.
Delay after delay
President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power since the 2001 assignation of his father Laurent Kabila, had made a deal with opposition parties in December to hold the election before the end of 2017.
The president already reached the constitutional two-term limit before that point, but a court ruled that he could stay in office until a new election.
The initial delay generated deadly protests across the country, and there are fears that Tuesday's postponement could make a tense situation far worse.
"For us it's very clear that what (the electoral commission) is saying is just the plan of President Kabila, who wants to stay in power," said Christophe Lutundula, a member of the Congolese opposition group, Rassemblement.
Opposition leader Claudel Lubaya told news agency Reuters that "everything now rests on the shoulders of the population, which must take matters into its own hands."
President Kabila's spokesman has repeatedly said that CENI makes decisions over electoral schedules independently of the government.
UN stresses urgency
Speaking to the UN Security Council, French Ambassador Francois Delattre said on Wednesday that the December deal had already been "very much delayed and the Security Council has repeatedly stressed the urgency faced by (Congo)."
The UN Security Council is concerned about the latest delayImage: Imago/photothek/T. Imo
President Kabila had committed himself to holding the election in a speech to the UN in September, but did not say when he expected it to take place.
Maman Sidikou, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, told the Security Council that international donors had only given CENI 6 percent of the $123 million (104 million euros) it needed to operate effectively.
With the latest delay, Sidikou said there had been a "re-emergence of a climate of political uncertainty and tensions" in the country of 77 million.
Since August 2016, violence in the Kasai region has claimed the lives of nearly 5,000 people and displaced around 1.4 million. The international red cross has said that armed fighting throughout the country has also left at least 7 million people needing emergency humanitarian assistance.
Democratic Republic of Congo: The displaced people of Kalemie
More than 200,000 internally displaced people live in 17 provisional refugee camps around the city of Kalemie, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The conditions are hard, but better than those at home.
Image: Lena Mucha
Evening at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp
Two children run around at dusk in the Kalenge refuge camp for IDPs. Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes after fighting broke out in the province of Tanganyika in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Now, many live in camps in the city of Kalemie and its surroundings. Among them are many children, who were separated from their parents.
Image: Lena Mucha
Flammable buildings
The IDPs at the Kalenge refugee camp live in huts made of straw. Frequent fire outbreaks often spread rapidly from house to house. The situation is similar in other camps in the region. In June alone, the Moni, Lukwangulo, Kabubili, Kateke and Katanyika camps burned down. In August, half of Kakinga camp burned down, resulting in the death of a child.
Image: Lena Mucha
School becomes an emergency shelter
These children are in the Circle Filtsaf Primary School in Kalemie, but they are not here to learn. They were placed here after being driven out of Tabacongo in early May. Some of them suffer from diseases and malnutrition.
Image: Lena Mucha
Bacteria in blood
Employees of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders are testing for malaria in this provisional clinic. 70 to 80 percent of the population in the Kalunga refugee camp is said to be carriers of the Malaria bacteria. The doctors also treat children who are malnourished or suffering from measles.
Image: Lena Mucha
Fleeing as a family
"Our children and old people are dying," said Kisompo Selemani [In photo: 2nd from left]. The chief of the Twa people has been living with his wife and four children in Kilunga since November. The family had to leave their village when it came under attack by another Twa faction. "The government has to do something so that we can return to our villages," said the 64 year old.
Image: Lena Mucha
No education
Throughout the camp, there are no schools or other activities for children.
Image: Lena Mucha
Making a living
A woman sells cigarettes, flashlights and manioc with her children at the Kilunga refugee camp. Many of the displaced persons eat only one meal per day, mostly manioc flour and leaves.
Image: Lena Mucha
In search of clean water
While children in Mukuku play football, women transport water canisters. There is a lack of clean water. This increases the risk of contagious diseases such as cholera, which is transmitted via contaminated water.
Image: Lena Mucha
Looking for work
The security situation in the region is still volatile. Many displaced people are seeking safety in and around Kalemie. To earn some money, they work on the fields in the surrounding villages or collect firewood for sale.
Image: Lena Mucha
Temporary settlement or a new beginning?
Life in the refugee camp is not easy. Yet, it is much better here for many of the displaced persons. Most of them witnessed serious violence before they fled. According to Doctors Without Borders, there is a desperate need for psychological care.
Image: Lena Mucha
Mosquitoes a deadly threat
In the Kalonda refugee camp, 69-year-old Kabeja Kanusiki cares for her sick grandchildren. The mosquito net in the background is intended to protect them against malaria, which can be dangerous for children in particular. Altogether about 210,000 displaced persons live in about 17 non-official camps around Kalemie.
