The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
THIS WEEK: DR Congo to go to polls next year
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Independent National Electoral Commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has set December 23, 2018 as the date when citizens will choose their next president. In a statement released on Nov.05, the electoral commission noted that legislative, regional and local elections will also be held on that day.
According to the tentative programme, results of these elections will be published a week after polls on December30, 2018. Final results will be released on January 09, 2019 and the president elect will take office on January19, 2019.
These elections that seek to replace long serving president Joseph Kabila were scheduled to take place this year but have suffered several delays with the opposition pushing that the president steps down to allow for peaceful transition.
Even with the new date, the opposition still insists that the president leaves at the end of this year since his final term expired in December 2016. The opposition say the current delays in holding polls is a trick by government to buy time and moot for a constitutional amendment to remove term limits allowing Kabila to stand again.
