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Congolese soldiers fire in air to quell protests against election delay Congolese soldiers fire in air to quell protests against election delay
(35 minutes later)
Soldiers and police in the city of Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have fired in the air to disperse protesters who barricaded roads and burned tyres after the decision to exclude them from the presidential election on Sunday. Security forces in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have fired live rounds and teargas to disperse demonstrators who burned tires and allegedly attacked Ebola centres in a protest against a decision to exclude them from the presidential election.
The electoral commission (CENI) announced on Wednesday it was cancelling the vote in Beni, its surrounding areas and the nearby city of Butembo because of an Ebola outbreak and militia violence. The electoral commission (CENI) announced on Wednesday it was cancelling voting in Sunday’s election in the cities of Beni and Butembo and their surrounding areas because of an ongoing Ebola outbreak and militia violence.
DRC activists risk arrest to encourage voting in delayed election The areas are strongholds of opposition to the outgoing president, Joseph Kabila, and local politicians denounced the move as an effort to swing the vote in favour of his preferred candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary.
Those places in eastern DRC are strongholds of opposition to the outgoing president, Joseph Kabila, and local politicians denounced the move as an effort to swing the vote in favour of his preferred candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. “There was a group of demonstrators who wanted to enter the CENI office ... to demand the withdrawal of the decision,” said Giscard Yere, a Beni resident. “But the police officers and soldiers who were there fired to disperse the demonstrators.”
“There was a group of demonstrators who wanted to enter the CENI office ... to demand the withdrawal of the decision,” said Giscard Yere, a Beni resident. “But the police officers and soldiers who were there fired to disperse the demonstrators.“ Protesters ransacked an Ebola isolation centre in Beni and it is possible that patients fled, Aruna Abedi, the deputy director of the Ebola response, told Reuters.
Dozens of protesters waved Congolese flags as they marched down Beni’s main boulevard. Most shops in the city of several hundred thousand people remained closed, residents said. They also attacked the office of the government agency coordinating the response in Beni before UN peacekeepers pushed them back, Abedi said. “Protesters tried to force the door of the centre,” Abedi told Reuters. “They were chanting songs hostile to the government and demanding elections. They threw projectiles.”
“They went to the mayor’s office and then the CENI office. There is teargas and gunfire,” said Teddy Kataliko, a local civil society leader. Col Safari Kazingufu, the police commander in Beni, said his forces had deployed across the city to restore order, including around Ebola treatment centres.
Beni, Butembo and the rural areas around them have been dealing with an Ebola outbreak – now the second deadliest in history – since August, but health authorities had repeatedly said it would not prevent the vote from going ahead.Beni, Butembo and the rural areas around them have been dealing with an Ebola outbreak – now the second deadliest in history – since August, but health authorities had repeatedly said it would not prevent the vote from going ahead.
The CENI also cancelled the vote in the western city of Yumbi because ethnic violence there last week killed more than 100 people.The CENI also cancelled the vote in the western city of Yumbi because ethnic violence there last week killed more than 100 people.
The election to replace Kabila, who has governed since replacing his assassinated father in 2001, was scheduled to take place in 2016 but has been repeatedly delayed.The election to replace Kabila, who has governed since replacing his assassinated father in 2001, was scheduled to take place in 2016 but has been repeatedly delayed.
That has triggered protests in which security forces killed dozens of people. It has also stoked militia violence in Congo’s eastern borderlands with Rwanda and Uganda as armed groups moved to exploit a perceived power vacuum. That has triggered violent protests in which security forces killed dozens of people. It has also stoked militia violence in Congo’s eastern borderlands with Rwanda and Uganda as armed groups moved to exploit a perceived power vacuum.
Shadary faces two main challengers in a field of 21 candidates: Felix Tshisekedi, the president of Congo’s largest opposition party, and Martin Fayulu, a former Exxon Mobil manager and national lawmaker. Shadary is facing two main challengers in a field of 21 candidates: Félix Tshisekedi, the president of Congo’s largest opposition party, and Martin Fayulu, a former Exxon Mobil manager and national lawmaker.
Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
AfricaAfrica
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