DRC Election update: Protests erupt over polls delay

Protests as Opposition supporters accuse the government of trying to disenfranchise them Photo/BBC

DRC Election update: Protests erupt over polls delay

Protests have been reported in the three areas of Beni, Butembo and Yumbi where the electoral body have said the Sunday election would not hold.

Reports say Police fired tear gas at protesters angry that several opposition strongholds have been left out.

The opposition accuses the authorities of seeking to rig the ballot.

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Electoral officials have postponed voting in three cities until March, citing insecurity and Ebola concerns.

But with the new president due to be sworn in next month, it appears the votes of more than a million people will be discounted.

In Goma, the main city in eastern DR Congo and also an opposition stronghold, crowds blocked a road in the Majengo neighbourhood and around the university, the BBC’s Gaius Kowene reports from the scene.

Anti-riot police are positioned at some street corners in Majengo, and protesters retreated after tear gas was fired, he adds.

Protests were also reported in Yumbi, Butembo while in Beni, soldiers fired tear gas to disperse protesters, Reuters news agency reports.