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DRC govt makes it very difficult for elections to be free, fair: Kwankwa

Nqabayomzi Kwankwa
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The deputy president of the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, says regardless of the tensions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), people want elections to go ahead for the sake of progression.

People are voting in Africa’s second largest country on Sunday, in an election delayed for more than two years.

President Joseph Kabila, who’s been in power since 2001 will be standing down. But the run-up has been hit by violence and controversy over the decision to exclude over a million people from voting.

The government  says this was due to concerns over the current Ebola outbreak as well as insecurity.

On Saturday, rival candidates failed to agree on a statement aimed at reducing tension before the polls.

Kwankwa, who was in the DRC in October, says the current administration is making it difficult for elections to be free and fair.

“The government is making it very difficult for those elections to be free and fair. It was in my view very irresponsible on the part of government to take that unilateral decision to say we are experiencing logistical problems without consulting anyone. They are adamant that they want the elections to go ahead even though they know the elections are not free and fair. They are aware that attempts have been made to try and rig the elections. But they say all they want is to make sure there are elections so they can begin the process after the election to try and rebuild the DRC,” says Kwankwa.

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