Congolese voters face delays at polls amid logistical challenges

People in the Democratic Republic of Congo were voting Wednesday in a high-stakes election pitting the incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi against a fragmented opposition, whose leaders denounced « chaos » and « irregularities ». The first polling stations in the east of the vast central African nation, which straddles two time zones, opened almost on time, shortly after 6:00 am (0400 GMT). At around midday, however, voting was still not under way in some polling booths in various regions of the country, which is the size of continental western Europe. The delays are however unsurprising as « the logistical challenge faced by the electoral commission organising these elections have been simply massive, » FRANCE 24’s Andrew Hilliar said, reporting from Kinshasa.