Congo holds presidential election, opposition alleging fraud

Democratic Republic of Congo was holding presidential and legislative elections on Wednesday after a chaotic campaign marred by opposition allegations of fraud, electoral violence, and logistical setbacks that could prevent many from voting.
At stake is not just the legitimacy of the next administration. Congolese election disputes often spark violent unrest with potentially far-reaching consequences. Congo is the world’s third largest copper producer, and the top producer of cobalt, a battery component needed for the green transition.
Delays were reported in several towns in Congo’s rebel-plagued east and in the capital Kinshasa, voting materials had not arrived at polling stations and voter lists were not published.
In Bunia, also in eastern Congo, security forces fired warning shots to disperse protesters after a voting centre was vandalised and kits destroyed, a Reuters reporter said.
A provincial election commission official told journalists that people displaced by violence in the region had protested because they wanted to vote in their home towns.
For months, Congo’s national election commission has insisted it would deliver a free and fair vote as promised across Africa’s second-largest country, even as independent observers and critics flag irregularities they say will jeopardise the legitimacy of the results.