Congo’s presidential election takes place Sunday after more than two years of delays. Protests and the surprise barring of 1 million voters from the polls over an Ebola outbreak marked the final days of preparations.
The country faces what could be its first peaceful, democratic transfer of power as President Joseph Kabila steps aside.
But the electoral commission’s last-minute decision to bar some 1 million people from voting on Sunday because of an Ebola outbreak has brought more unrest.
Kabila on Thursday evening claimed that Ebola could spread as people use voting machines. So hundreds of thousands of Congolese were barred from the ballot, prompting angry protests.
Further, the election commission chief has worried about rebels shooting voters waiting at the polls.