2 Dead at Presidential Election Polling Station in DRC: Media

Xinhua
2018/12/31 10:16:32

Two people were killed in a disturbance between voters and police at a polling station in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday, local media reported.

The incident took place on the polling day of the presidential election at a polling station at Lurhala Primary School in the eastern province of South-Kivu, said a media report.

According to testimonies collected by the local press, a man suspected of being an agent of the CENI (electoral body of the DRC) came in the day to force voters to vote for the ruling party candidate Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, creating scuffles.

A police officer deployed to secure the poll then fired on the voters he thought were out of control, killing one of the voters on the spot. In anger, the crowd beated the policeman to death. The unrest also left two injured.

The organization of the presidential election in the DRC has experienced several obstacles, including late opening of polling stations, absence of electoral lists, various malfunctions of voting machines, etc.

After slipping his ballot into the ballot box on Sunday morning, incumbent President Joseph Kabila said that "our people remain determined to overcome the challenges of the poll, together we write our own history."

The Congolese will know the successor to Kabila on Jan. 15 with the publication of the final results.