Voting in the Democratic Republic of Congo will continue today, Thursday 21st December, 2023 that Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) have announced.
The CENI could not fully hold the election on Wednesday, the day constitutionally scheduled to hold the polls, as thousands of the electorate in several regions went home without exercising their right to vote.
Late opening of polling stations due to delays in the arrival of voting materials was major amongst other reasons that saw the CENI could not conduct the election in all regions of the DR Congo.
The CENI have since announced that it will conclude the voting exercise on Thursday with all polling stations set to open at 6am and will close at 5pm local time.
In a statement released on this morning, CENI also reassured candidates and other stakeholders that it will deliver a transparent election.
Below is the statement by CENI;
The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) notes the delay recorded in the deployment of certain electoral materials and equipment which consequently caused the late opening of some Polling and Counting Stations (BVD).
The CENI reassures the public in general and voters in particular that all measures are taken to ensure that voting operations continue without interruption up to the voter in the queues. In exceptional cases where the counting polling stations have not been opened at all, the CENI schedules the opening of said BVDs for the day of Thursday, December 21, 2023, from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., local times, according to the requirements of the law and under the principle of equal rights of which all citizens should enjoy without distinction.
It should be noted that BVDs open and operational on December 20, 2023 are not affected by this measure. Therefore from December 21, 2023.
The CENI thanks the Congolese people, and in particular the electorate, for their elevated sense of patriotism and civic commitment as demonstrated today by massive and orderly participation in the combined elections.
