The Democratic Republic of Congo has started voting with several polling stations reporting delays, fraud and violence.
CENI president Denis Kadima promised that voting will start at 5am and end and 6pm.
Some polling stations in the capital Kinshasa, second largest city of Lubumbashi, Goma, Bunia, Bandundu among others recorded delays.
Opposition leader Martin Fayulu who was among the first to vote says if all the polling stations did not vote, he will not concede.
A cross check of events show that voting in many areas started after almost a three-hour delay.
Authorities scrambled to finalise preparations in an election facing steep logistical and security challenges.
Some 44 million people — almost half the population — are expected to vote. But many, including several million displaced by conflict in the vast country’s east, could struggle to cast their ballots. The fighting has prevented 1.5 million people from registering to vote.
In the eastern DRC, people said they were not finding their names on voting lists.
In Bandundu, a member of
President Felix Tshisekedi’s team was caught with suspected pre-marked ballots.
In Ituri, displaced Congolese rioted and destroyed voting materials while Lubumbashi also recorded massive delays but was for the early part relatively calm.
