The United States has urged the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) electoral authorities to be transparent when releasing the results of Wednesday’s elections.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that while US diplomacy commended the DRC’s electoral commission’s work, “additional measures to ensure the transparency of the electoral process, including clear information on when and how results will be published, would help build confidence.”
On Wednesday, almost 44 million voters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be asked to choose their president, national and provincial legislators, and, for the first time, community council members from a population of over 100 million.
Around 75,000 polling stations are expected to open in this vast, primarily impoverished Central African country.
The electoral commission declared Félix Tshisekedi the winner on January 10th, despite having indicated that the results would be released on January 6th following the December 2018 polls.
His opponent Martin Fayulu then denounced fraud.
However, given the DRC’s violent political past, these elections marked the country’s first peaceful changeover.
This year, campaigning took place in relative calm.
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