Congo votes for president as conflict and smudged ballots lead to fears election won't be credible

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo headed to the polls Wednesday to vote for president as authorities scrambled to finalize preparations in an election facing steep logistical and security challenges, with voting starting nearly 2 1/2 hours late in the capital.

Some 44 million people — almost half the population — were expected to vote, but many, including several million who were displaced by conflict in the vast country's east, could struggle to cast their ballots. The fighting has prevented 1.5 million people from registering to vote.

At stake is the credibility of the vote in one of Africa’s largest nations and one whose mineral resources are increasingly crucial to the global economy. Congo has a history of disputed elections that can turn violent and there's already a deep crisis of confidence in the country’s institutions. Analysts say any questionable result could not only drive the country further into turmoil but could have implications in a region marked by military takeovers.

“In time of coup d’état and autocracy in Africa, this election is an opportunity to reinforce a unique democracy in central Africa,” said Fred Bauma, executive director of Congolese research institute Ebuteli.

On Wednesday voters lined up for hours waiting to cast their ballots.

“When you wake up in the morning you’re hoping for good things, good work, and I want security,” Raymond Yuma said in the capital, Kinshasa. He sat beside three other people on a bench waiting in line for the doors to open. None of their voting cards was legible.

In eastern Congo, people said they weren’t finding their names on voting lists.

“The voters displayed on lists at the polling station are fewer than those who are lining up. I can’t find my name on the list and this could cause scuffles here because I also want to vote,” said Jules Kambale at a polling station in Goma.

Waiting for polls to open during the more than two-hour delay, people grew agitated and began arguing, particularly in the capital. Even after stations opened, many were frustrated at the slow process. At one voting station, an angry crowd tried to push past police officers in riot gear guarding the gates of the center.

Junior Tshimanga, who lined up at 4 a.m. to vote, said he saw materials brought in one hour before the polls were scheduled to open. Thousands of stations, particularly in remote areas, might still not have what they need on Wednesday.

A major concern is that ink on voting cards has smudged, making many illegible. That means voters could be turned away. In addition, the voter registration list hasn’t been properly audited.

“The organization of the elections raises lots of doubt regarding the credibility, the transparency and the reliability of the results,” said Bienvenu Matumo, a member of LUCHA, a local rights group.

A candidate needs a majority of votes in the first round to win.

President Felix Tshisekedi seeks his second and final five-year term, running against 26 other names on the ballot. His main rival appeared to be Moise Katumbi, the former governor of Katanga province and a millionaire businessperson whose campaign in 2018 was thwarted by the previous regime of former President Joseph Kabila.

While voting in Lubumbashi, Katumbi asked the population to stay at polling stations and monitor the results until the end. “We must count each ballot and results must be displayed. The only result that we will accept will be the one displayed on each polling station,” he said.

Still, the opposition remains fractured, making Tshisekedi the likely favorite.

The son of a late, popular opposition figure, he has spent much of his presidency trying to consolidate power over state institutions and working to overcome a crisis of legitimacy after a contested election five years ago.

“He’s someone who’s done a lot of things for the country … he’s fought for democracy,” said business owner Joseph Tshibadi. Even though Tshisekedi hasn’t succeeded in quelling violence in the east, Tshibadi is willing to give him more time.

In the eastern city of Bunia, displaced people vandalized a voting center over a dispute between the electoral commission and voters, said Jean-Marcus Loika, a local journalist who saw the attack. Gunshots in the area prevented people from voting, he said.

More than 120 armed groups in eastern Congo are fighting for power and resources or to protect their communities. Among them are M23 rebels, allegedly backed by neighboring Rwanda, which denies it. Tshisekedi came to power promising to stem the violence, but attempts to quell the fighting with an East African force have failed. The force is pulling out, along with the U.N. peacekeeping mission, which has been in Congo for decades.

Analysts said the vote is likely to be extended beyond Wednesday.

Nicolas Teindas, the director for the international observation mission for the Carter Center, said the sooner the voting is finished the better because it becomes challenging to manage people’s expectations. “In the end people want to know who is their president,” he said.

The election commission says it has made changes in the process to make it more credible, spending more than $1 billion on the vote since planning began two years ago. A key change from 2018 is that results from each of the 75,000 voting stations will be released one at a time, rather than being announced in bulk.

The results should be the manual ones rather than the electronic count, said Rev. Eric Nsenga, a coordinator for the joint electoral observation mission between the Church of Christ for Congo and the Congolese National Episcopal Conference. He also warned against publicly releasing partial results as they are compiled in case it inflames tensions.

Already, some observers have alleged that the process has been far from transparent.

On Monday, the East African Community said its election observer mission was not granted access to Congo by authorities. Last month, the European Union canceled its observation mission after Congolese authorities did not authorize the use of satellite equipment for its deployment.

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Associated Press journalists Mosa’ab Elshamy in Kinshasa, Ruth Alonga in Goma and Elisha Iragi in Lubumbashi, Congo, contributed to this report.