Expectations high in DRC vote

“Expectations are high for political change in the country, and that is what is worrying us”, says Fr. Sean O’ Leary, President of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute of the Southern African Bishops Conference.

Fr. O’ Leary is leading a team of international election observers in the DRC’s South Kivu province: “We have to wait and see. The counting will start immediately after the closing of each voting centre on the spot and it is announcing of results which is crucial in this area”.

International organisations appealed for calm on the eve of Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election, after a run-up tainted by violent street clashes and delayed poll preparations.

Concerns have been mounting about the central African
country's readiness for its second post-war presidential
contest, and what impact a troubled vote might have on efforts to stabilise the giant minerals-producing nation.

The European Union, the African Union and the United Nations called for restraint after several people were killed in clashes on Saturday, the last day of campaigning.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday Congo's
election was "crucial for the country's progress," and called on "all political leaders and the people ... to exercise restraint throughout the process to ensure that the elections are held in a peaceful and secure environment."

The EU observer mission accused police of denying President Joseph Kabila's main rival, Etienne Tshisekedi, his right to campaign in the capital after he was blocked by security forces at the airport on Saturday.


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