2018 Democratic Republic of Congo General Election Sunday Dec 30,2018

 The General Election is scheduled to elect a successor to incumbent President Joseph Kabila

As per the constitution ,the second and final term of President Kabila expired on Dec 20, 2016.

The presidential elections, which were first scheduled to take place in 2016, have been repeatedly postponed over the past two years, angering opposition supporters and, at times, sparking violent anti Govt rallies during which security forces killed dozens of protesters.

Last week, the country's electoral commission (CENI) pushed back the planned December 23 vote by a week following a fire at one of its main warehouses in the capital, Kinshasa, as well as the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC.

Incumbent President Joseph Kabila succeeded his father - a former rebel leader - who was assassinated in 2001 by one of his bodyguards.

Kabila's second and final term in office ended two years ago, but he remained in power, thanks to a caretaker clause in the constitution. Observers are worried that he would try to stay on.

Deadly protests against his rule and pressure from the international community mounted until he recently announced that he will not be running in the election.

Incumbent President Kabila is constitutionally unable to participate

Joseph Kabila and his party, the Prople's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy support the candidacy of Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, the former Minister of the Interior.

In opposition to Shadary's candidacy, 7 opposition leaders, including Jean Pierre Bemba and Moise Katumbi  nominated Martin Fayulu as their candidate for president

As many as 21 candidates are competing for the country's top job.

The electoral commission said official results of the presidential poll will be announced on January 15,2019

The DRC, a country of more than 80 million people, has not seen a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

Note

DR Congo is Africa's biggest copper producer and is home to more than 60 percent of the world's cobalt. The two minerals account for 80 percent of the country's export revenue

DR Congo has a primary and secondary school enrollment rate of 54 percent and a literacy rate of 66.8 percent (those aged 15 and over who can read and write)