Incumbent Felix Tshisekedi, opposition candidates Moise Katumbi and Martin Fayulu, and Nobel Peace laureate Denis Mukwege are prominent among the two dozen presidential candidates in Democratic Republic of Congo.
All times given are in GMT
0618: Polling stations have opened in the general election, and will close at 5 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), though polling booths will stay open if there are people still waiting in line so they can cast their ballots. A holiday has been declared for the election, and borders have been closed and domestic flights suspended as during previous votes.
Some 44 million people out of the population of 100 million are eligible to vote. For the first time, Congolese citizens living in South Africa, Belgium, the US and France can also cast ballots.
0642: In the city of Goma, in volatile eastern Congo, many voters are still waiting for polling stations to open, according to DW correspondent Zanem Nety Zaidi. “I’m here at the Zanner Institute Center in downtown Goma and it is already after 8 a.m but the voting station is not yet open. People are still streaming in and the police and observers are on hand to monitor the voting process,” he says.
Edited by: Benita van Eyssen
