Congo: December 2018 date set for next presidential vote

Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Photo by Nightstallion – Own work, Public Domain)

KINSHASA, Congo — Congolese election officials say a long-awaited presidential election will take place in December 2018.

National independent election commission president Corneille Nangaa announced the plan on Sunday.

Congo has seen widespread anger over President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to relinquish power after his mandate ended in December 2016 without an election being held.

The election commission had recently said elections could not take place until 2019, citing deadly violence in the Kasai region and logistical hurdles.

The leader of Congo’s largest opposition party has said he would agree to delay the vote until June 2018 provided Kabila steps down at the end of the year and is replaced by a transitional government.

It was not immediately clear whether key members of the opposition would accept the new proposed date.