[AFRICANEWS] Some fifteen embassies in Kinshasa on Saturday called for "restraint" after the elections in the DRC, described as a "sham" by the opposition, which is already planning a demonstration, as the first results are just starting to come in.
It's all over but the shootin'...
"In a joint statement, the embassies of 12 European countries and Canada called on all parties (...) to continue to show restraint as the vote count continues.
On Friday evening, on X (formerly Twitter), the US embassy had also "urged all politicians to continue to exercise restraint and resolve differences peacefully".
On Wednesday, some 44 million of the approximately 100 million inhabitants of this vast Central African country were called upon to elect their president, national and provincial deputies and communal councillors.
The incumbent president, Félix Tshisekedi, is seeking a second term against 18 other candidates, including several opposition heavyweights who had already denounced the "chaos" surrounding the vote on Wednesday.
Faced with the many logistical problems that prevented many polling stations from opening as scheduled, the electoral commission (Céni) extended the poll.
Officially, voting ended on Thursday evening, but according to local sources, voting continued in remote areas of several provinces.
For example, in the Lubero territory of North Kivu province (east), electoral material arrived by helicopter in the village of Mabuo on Saturday, before being transported on foot to four other localities (Engobo, Lenda, Bududia, Isange), Macaire Kambau Sivikunula, head of the Bapere sector, which includes these localities, told AFP.
Due to a "special dispensation" from the Céni, "voting will take place tomorrow (Sunday) at these five sites", he added.
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