The results of last week’s presidential vote should be opened to the public to avoid political unrest in DR Congo, The Catholic Church said. Meantime, the officials delay the result of the presidential vote.
The DR Congo official preferred not to publish the presidential election results on Sunday, even taking into account the growing calls for the outcome to be announced.
“It is not possible to publish the results on Sunday. We are making progress, but we do not have everything yet.” However, no date for the announcement was given after a statement of the electoral commission (DRC-EC). It added a deadly Ebola outbreak in the eastern cities of Beni and Butembo became a serious obstacle for the voting process in that regions. Additionally, voting was also called off in the western city of Yumbi because of insecurity there.
The Catholic Church interferes into politics
The head of the electoral commission said this was because less than half the ballots had arrived. His spokesman told the BBC a meeting would be held on Sunday over the delay. According to the Catholic Church, which fielded thousands of observers, there was a clear winner on Thursday.
The angry response from the coalition in power became the logical consequence of officials’ unwilling to make the results public. The opposition adviced the Catholic Church to stay away from the politics, otherwise, it looks like the church was “doing something illegal” and accused it of “preparing the population for insurrection”.
The Church had been vocal in its opposition to the extension of President Joseph Kabila’s rule. The national leader stepped down after 17 years in office and has promised DR Congo’s first orderly transfer of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.
