05 October 2016•Update: 05 October 2016
By Godfrey Olukya
ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo
A two-year delay in Democratic Republic of Congo’s elections is meant to ensure greater public participation, President Joseph Kabila has said.
According to government spokesman Wilson Mbuye, who was at a press conference Tuesday in the Tanzanian capital Dar Es Salaam where Kabila spoke, Kabila said that if the elections had taken place this November as scheduled, many voters, especially young ones, would not participate because they are not registered.
The nation’s electoral commission announced Saturday that it expects the polls to be delayed until December 2018.
Kabila elaborated that as many as 10 million eligible voters are not registered and that it would be unfair if such a large chunk of the country's 67.5 million population misses out on voting.
"We can’t hold elections now. We want most of the people to vote. That is why we have decided to delay the elections, to avoid locking out a huge number of people,'' said Kabila, echoing the commission’s reasoning.
But Mwana wa Mboka, a member of the opposition Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) party, said, ''Kabila is using that excuse to prolong his stay in power. We will not accept such tricks.''
Late last month members of the opposition protested in Kinshasa against what they called Kabila's “tricks” to extend his stay in power. The demonstrations turned chaotic, and over 50 people lost their lives.
