PRETORIA - Presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been delayed for a week.

The country's electoral commission says a fire in its warehouse last week has made it impossible to hold the poll on Sunday as scheduled.

The country's 46 million voters will now cast their ballots on 30 December.

The delay in the elections, already more than two years late, has displeased many of the 21 presidential candidates.

They're saying it is driven more by politics than logistics.

Electoral commission head Corneille Nangaa says voting machines to replace the 8,000 destroyed in the fire will arrive at the weekend. It will take at least three days to align them with the existing machines.

Since voting on Christmas Day is out of the question, it was decided to postpone the exercise until the end of this month. </s> (KINSHASA, Congo) — Congo’s electoral commission has delayed the country’s long-awaited presidential election until Dec. 30, citing problems caused by a recent fire that destroyed 80 percent of the voting machines in the capital.

The vote had been scheduled for Sunday. This is the latest of several delays in the election originally scheduled for late 2016, amid opposition concerns that President Joseph Kabila was finding ways to stay in power.

Corneille Nangaa, head of the electoral commission, said officials have found enough voting machines for Kinshasa but had to get 5 million new ballots printed.

Nangaa called on the country of some 40 million voters for calm. </s> Derailed By Fire And Disarray, Congo Delays Presidential Election — Again

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Three days before voters were finally to cast their ballots for president, authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared something that's become familiar: another delay. The electoral commission announced Thursday that elections to replace President Joseph Kabila already two years behind schedule, have been postponed to Dec. 30.

The commission, known as CENI, revealed the delay during a private meeting with the presidential candidates — including opposition candidate Seth Kikuni, who tweeted afterward that CENI is "technically unable to organize the elections this Sunday."

Commission officials formally announced the move later Thursday at a news conference in the capital, Kinshasa. The decision comes just one week after suspected arson destroyed nearly 80 percent of the city's voting machines in a massive blaze.

At the same time, in war-torn regions more than 1,500 miles to the east, Congo remains deeply embroiled in the worst Ebola outbreak in its history, with some 550 suspected and confirmed cases since the start of August.

Still, Sunday's vote offered a glimmer of hope for a country that long grappled with doubts that presidential elections would be held at all. Kabila, 47, has held power since 2001, when he took office after his father's assassination, and the term-limited leader has spent the past two years repeatedly delaying the election to decide his successor and violently cracking down on dissenters who protested the delays.

Enlarge this image toggle caption John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images

And though Kabila confirmed earlier this year that he would not try to stand for re-election, security forces stirred fears of renewed repression during recent clashes with opposition supporters. Several people were killed in the bloodshed last week, and Kinshasa Gov. Andre Kimbuta, a member of the ruling coalition, banned campaigning in the capital on Wednesday, citing security reasons.

The disarray of recent days has called forth unpleasant memories among the Congolese, who are no strangers to violent and unstable elections — including the past two presidential votes, which saw Kabila retain power despite rampant fighting and claims of fraud.

On Wednesday, as rumors of a potential delay circulated, one of the opposition front-runners, Martin Fayulu, told Reuters it would be unacceptable to postpone the vote.

"The CENI president said there will be an election rain or shine on the 23rd of December," he said. "We cannot accept a change of [CENI President Corneille] Nangaa's position today."

Another candidate, Noel Tshiani, applied a more positive spin to the decision.

"If the elections are postponed," he tweeted Thursday, "let's seize this opportunity to organize 4 presidential debates to enable the Congolese people to get to know the candidates better." </s> KINSHASA, Congo — Congo delays presidential election until Dec. 30, electoral official says, citing fire that destroyed voting machines.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Congo's electoral commission has delayed the country's long-awaited presidential election until Dec. 30, citing a recent fire that destroyed 80 percent of the voting machines in the capital.

The vote had been scheduled for Sunday. This is the latest of several delays in the election originally scheduled for late 2016, amid opposition concerns that President Joseph Kabila was looking for ways to stay in power.

After last week's fire destroyed some 8,000 voting machines in Kinshasa, officials found replacement machines but had to get 5 million new ballots printed, said Corneille Nangaa, head of the national electoral commission.

He called on the country of some 40 million voters for calm.

Tensions have risen in Congo ahead of the election.

On Wednesday the governor of Kinshasa, Andre Kimbuta, banned all election rallies in the capital, citing security concerns. That prevented main opposition leader Martin Fayulu from holding a rally. Thousands of angry supporters gathered but police dispersed them with tear gas.

Several people have been killed in recent days at chaotic opposition rallies in various parts of the country, leading the U.N. Security Council to issue a statement this week calling on Congo's government to "swiftly investigate." The council also called for a "violence-free environment."

On Dec. 12, the U.N.'s special representative in Congo denounced "the obstacles encountered by some opposition candidates during their efforts to hold public meetings in certain cities around the country." Among several incidents, Fayulu was prevented from landing in Kindu where he was scheduled hold a rally on Dec. 9, according to his campaign manager, Pierre Lumbi.

"I am concerned by the growing tensions ... and the risk of escalating violence that could lead to the commission of grave crimes," the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said in a statement on Thursday. She warned that anyone who "incites or participates in mass violence" could be prosecuted.

Other observers have expressed concern over whether adequate election materials have been distributed across the vast country that is more than three times the size of Texas.

Even before the delay was announced, some observers criticized the Kabila government for not making adequate preparations for the vote.

"We had seven years to prepare these elections and at the last minute the electoral commission gives the impression they are not ready for the vote," said Rev. Jean Marie Bomengola with the Episcopal Bishops Conference, which plans to deploy 40,000 election observers. </s> KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo delays presidential election until Dec. 30, electoral official says, citing fire that destroyed voting machines. </s> Democratic Republic of Congo’s electoral commission on Thursday delayed the country’s long-awaited presidential election until December 30, citing a recent fire that destroyed 80% of the voting machines in the capital.

The vote had been scheduled for Sunday. This is the latest of several delays in the election originally scheduled for late 2016, amid opposition concerns that President Joseph Kabila had been looking for ways to stay in power. Kabila, in office since 2001, earlier this year announced he would step aside.

After last week’s fire destroyed some 8 000 voting machines in Kinshasa, officials found replacement machines but had to get 5 million new ballots printed and prepared, said Corneille Nangaa, head of the national electoral commission.

He called on the country of some 40 million voters for calm. The delay of even a week could spark another wave of unrest.

Some protesters quickly gathered outside the electoral commission’s offices to demonstrate against the decision to postpone the vote.

“Nangaa speaks nonsense. They didn’t organize the election in seven years and they want us to believe they will be ready in seven days? Kabila is sabotaging the election. Kabila must go,” said Fiston Adumba, 32.

Tensions have been rising in Congo, which has not had a peaceful, democratic change of leader since it became independent from Belgium in 1960.

On Wednesday the governor of Kinshasa, Andre Kimbuta, banned all election rallies in the capital, citing security concerns. That prevented main opposition leader Martin Fayulu from holding a rally. Thousands of angry supporters gathered but police dispersed them with tear gas.

“No postponement is justifiable,” Fayulu’s coalition said in a statement later on Thursday, saying it would not accept the delay and accusing Kabila of trying to stay in power and “continue to loot the country.”

Several people have been killed in recent days at chaotic opposition rallies in various parts of the country, leading the UN Security Council to issue a statement this week calling on DRC’s government to “swiftly investigate.” The council also called for a “violence-free environment”.

On Deember 12, the UN’s special representative in DRC denounced “the obstacles encountered by some opposition candidates during their efforts to hold public meetings in certain cities around the country.”

Among several incidents, Fayulu was prevented from landing in Kindu where he was scheduled hold a rally on December 9, according to his campaign manager, Pierre Lumbi.

“I am concerned by the growing tensions … and the risk of escalating violence that could lead to the commission of grave crimes,” the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said in a statement on Thursday. She warned that anyone who “incites or participates in mass violence” could be prosecuted.

Other observers have expressed concern over whether adequate election materials have been distributed across the vast country that is more than three times the size of Texas.

DRC is using voting machines for the first time, a rarity in Africa, and opposition members, diplomats and technical experts have expressed concern about the possibility of manipulation. </s> Thursday brought a new twist to the upcoming polls in the Democratic Republic of Congo – a fightback against the election body’s suspension of voting in three regions, a call for nationwide strike and the literal sacking of the European Union envoy by government.

Earlier this week, voting was cancelled for three cities. Beni and Butembo – known opposition strongholds and Yumbi over rising spate of insecurity. The elections body, CENI, said the three cities will vote in March 2019 but that their results would not affect the conduct of the December 30 polls.

As expected, the main opposition Lamuka coalition have flatly rejected the move with its leader, ex-oil tycoon Martin Fayulu, announcing a nationwide shutdown to protest CENI’s decision.

“We are launching a patriotic call for a dead city day on Friday, December 28th, over the entire expanse of the Republic. #Beni, #Butembo and #Yumbi are an integral part of the #RDC which is one and indivisible,” Fayulu wrote in a tweet accompanied by a Lamuka statement.

The Catholic Church and Lucha activists have also protested over recent decisions by the CENI. The Church says it was unacceptable to adjourn elections for a part of the country. Whiles the influential activists group also accused CENI of preparing the grounds for chaos.

With barely just days to the elections, Kinshasa has asked the European Union to recall its representative citing targeted sanctions against 14 Congolese officials.

Brussels had sanctioned the 14 officials for their roles in repression of anti-Kabila protests. A government communication signed by Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu gave the EU 48 hours to withdraw its envoy.

Among the affected officials are Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, the ruling party’s candidate in the elections – at the time he was serving as Interior Minister, hence his inclusion.

Kinshasa had lobbied hard at a point soliciting the help of the African Union to ensure Shadary was free of the sanctions but the EU Council in early December voted to maintain the sanctions.

The upcoming elections were supposed to take place in late 2016 but were postponed by two whole years with the elections body, CENI, citing the lack of a credible voters roll, funding and insecurity.

Even this coming Sunday’s vote had been postponed from an earlier date of December 23. CENI cited loss of materials at a Kinshasa warehouse inferno for the decision. </s> The fire that ravaged a Baghdad warehouse where votes from May's legislative election were stored ahead of a recount was started "deliberately", Iraqi Interior Minister Qassem al-Araji said Monday.

The fire ripped through the warehouse Sunday ahead of a vote recount prompted by allegations of fraud during the election that saw a surprise victory for a populist cleric and Iraqi voters dumping the old guard.

"There is no doubt that it was a deliberate act and I am personally following up on the investigation with the criminal police and the committee tasked with probing the fire," Araji said.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control several hours after it broke out in a warehouse located in Al-Russafa, one of the largest voting districts in eastern Baghdad.

Around 60 percent of the two million voters in Baghdad cast their ballots in the May 12 election in that district.

The extent of the damage caused to ballot boxes was still unclear but some officials have suggested that most of them had been spared.

On Sunday an AFP reporter saw warehouse staff running out of the building as smoke billowed overhead, carrying blue and white ballot boxes to safety.

"Election material, including maybe ballot boxes, were burned but most of the ballot boxes were stored in another building and have been preserved," interior ministry spokesman General Saad Maan told reporters on Sunday.

The fire erupted as the Supreme Council of Justice on Sunday appointed nine jugdes to supervise a manual vote recount which had been ordered by Iraq's outgoing parliament.

The legislature on Wednesday also sacked the nine-member independent commission which oversaw the polls.

The vote was won by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's electoral alliance with communists, as long-time political figures were pushed out by Iraqi voters hoping for change in a country mired in conflict and corruption.

But the result was contested following allegations of fraud namely by the veteran politicians led by parliamentary speaker Salim al-Juburi.
The CENI electoral commission delays the election to 30 December after 80% of the voting machines in the capital were destroyed in a suspected arson last week.