Congo President Says Progress Being Made in Setting Vote Date
- Kabila says ‘irreversible’ steps taken in election preparation
- African nation’s opposition says president delaying the polls
Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila Kabange addresses the 72nd Session of the United Nations General assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 23, 2017.
Photographer: Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Democratic Republic of Congo has made “irreversible” progress in preparing credible and peaceful elections, President Joseph Kabila told the United Nations, without giving a date for the vote whose delay has spurred violent protests.
Speaking before the UN General Assembly on Sept. 23, Kabila said that 42 million of an estimated 45 million eligible voters have been registered. An ongoing “series of evaluations of the electoral process” should permit the “forthcoming publication” of the electoral calendar by the election commission, Kabila told the New York meeting in a rare public speech.