48 would-be presidents in DRC
2006-03-30 23:09
Kinshasa - The independent electoral commission (CEI) of the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Thursday so far 48 candidates have filed to run for president, three days before the deadline.
"We have received, as of March 29, filings from 48 candidates for the presidential election and 3 043 for the legislature" which consists of 500 seats, said the CEI second vice-president, Norbert Basengezi, at a news conference in Kinshasa.
The CEI had said earlier this week that the new date for the first round of the presidential ballot and for the single-round legislative elections, originally set for June 18, would be announced next Tuesday.
He added that no extension of the filing deadline on Sunday was expected.
The elections will be the first free democratic vote in the DRC in over 40 years and will mark the end of the volatile political transition in the vast central African country that began in 2003 after years of civil war.
The CEI also said that the elections of members to the provincial legislatures will take place as initially planned from April 10 to 30.
- AFP