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DRC on the edge over delay in announcing presidential election results

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DRC on the edge over delay in announcing presidential election results

There is palpable tension in the Democratic Republic of Congo with many on the edge after the head of the election commission revealed that the announcement of the just concluded presidential election will be delayed past Sunday’s deadline.

According to Corneille Nangaa, the president of the commission, known as CENI, only 47 percent of vote tally sheets have been received as of Saturday.

It’s not yet clear when the results would be ready, he said, adding: “It will not be possible to announce the results tomorrow (Sunday).”

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In a related development, the electoral commission accused the country’s Catholic Church of “preparing an insurrection” by saying it knows the winner of last Sunday’s presidential election.

Donatien Nshole, the secretary-general of the Church’s bishops’ conference, known as CENCO, said on Thursday its vote tallies showed a clear victor in the Dec. 30 election, a pronouncement widely seen as a warning to authorities against rigging the vote.

“The announcement of voting trends by Priest Nshole is likely to brainwash the population while preparing an insurrection that CENCO alone will be responsible for,” commission president Corneille Nangaa wrote in a letter to CENCO president Marcel Utembi, seen by Reuters.

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