- Title: Congo's Kabila says election delayed to allow more preparation
- Date: 4th October 2016
- Summary: DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA (OCTOBER 4, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO PRESIDENT JOSEPH KABILA AND TANZANIA'S JOHN MAGUFULI GREETING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS KABILA AT PODIUM, AUDIENCE SEATED AUDIENCE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Kiswahili) PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, JOSEPH KABILA, SAYING: "We want to be well prepared when we hold the upcoming elections. If we decide to hold our elections at the end of this year or even next year, we want the process to be peaceful in the lead up, during the the exercise and even after the election results are announced. We want to be ready." OFFICIALS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Kiswahili) PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, JOSEPH KABILA, SAYING: "There is no political crisis in Congo. What is happening at the moment is just some political tension ahead of elections, which is a normal thing in many parts of Africa. We also wanted to make sure that this tension is not there when we hold elections and that is why we have resorted to dialogue." GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS LISTENING
- Embargoed: 19th October 2016 19:43
- Keywords: Joseph Kabila election delay Tanzania
- Location: DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA
- City: DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA
- Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00152LDBGN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Democratic Republic of Congo authorities have delayed elections to make sure the country is better prepared for them, President Joseph Kabila said on Tuesday (October 4), answering accusations that the government is dragging its feet to help him to cling onto power.
Congo's electoral commission said on Saturday it expected polls to be delayed until December 2018.
"We want to be well prepared when we hold the upcoming elections. If we decide to hold our elections at the end of this year or even next year, we want the process to be peaceful in the lead up, during the the exercise and even after the election results are announced. We want to be ready," Kabila told journalists in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar Es Salaam.
Congo has not had a peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960. Protests over Kabila's perceived attempts to extend his 15 years in power have led to clashes with security forces several times in the past year.
Scores of people have been killed in the violence.
"There is no political crisis in Congo. What is happening at the moment is just some political tension ahead of elections, which is a normal thing in many parts of Africa. We also wanted to make sure that this tension is not there when we hold elections and that is why we have resorted to dialogue," Kabila said.
Supporters of Kabila, who is in Tanzania to discuss oil exploration in Lake Tanganyika on the two countries' borders, deny he is behind the delays, which they say are due to logistical and budgetary constraints.
But diplomats and observers fear increasing anger among Kabila's opponents and a growing political crisis could trigger a repeat of civil wars that killed millions of people between 1996 and 2003. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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