Congo's elections face enormous logistical problems sparking concerns

Congo’s president says he has confidence an upcoming vote will be rolled out credibly, as tensions mount that a severe lack of electoral preparation could throw the conflict-riddled nation into disarray

DAKAR, Senegal -- Congo's president says he has confidence Wednesday's vote will be rolled out credibly, as tensions mount that a severe lack of electoral preparation could throw the conflict-riddled nation into disarray.

“We must stop scaring people," President Felix Tshisekedi told The Associated Press. "We’ll be going (to the polls) with complete confidence until there’s evidence to the contrary.”

Some 44 million people — almost half the population — are expected to vote for Congo's next president Wednesday in the country's fourth election since civil and regional wars ended in the early 2000s. Yet the election is facing enormous logistical problems sparking concern it could impact its credibility, say locals and Congo experts. Thousands of polling stations might not have the materials they need upping the chances of contested results.

Initial fears of unrest surrounding the elections stemmed from the opposition rejecting the vote because of it being too close, but now there are worries it won't accept the results due to the chaos surrounding them, said Richard Moncrieff, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

“There could be suspicions of fraud, it could cause delays and there could be frustration with people trying to vote, all which could give huge amounts of ammunition to the opposition who could use that to reject the outcome,” he said.