There have been challenges in the distribution of voting materials in Africa's second-largest country due to a lack of paved roads and conflict in rebel-plagued eastern provinces, where a U.N. peacekeeping mission is deployed.
The mission, known as MONUSCO, has already helped deliver voting materials in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. Its mandate is currently limited to those areas.
In a letter dated December 12, the Kinshasa government asked the U.N. Security Council to allow MONUSCO to extend its logistical support to other provinces.
The mission's spokesperson, Ndeye Khady Lo, confirmed the letter and said the mission was waiting for the Security Council's reply.
Congo's government and its national electoral commission, CENI, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Some analysts and civil society groups have raised concerns that the election on December 20 could be delayed. In 2018, Congo postponed the vote by one week just three days before it was set to take place.
The CENI last week asked the presidency to provide aircraft urgently to help distribute voting materials in hard-to-reach areas.
The government has meanwhile asked neighboring Angola to lend it some planes for the election period. But its request was refused because it came too late, a diplomatic source said.
Opposition candidate suspends part of campaign
One of the main opposition candidates for president, Moise Katumbi, suspended part of his campaign on Wednesday after violent clashes at one of his election rallies.
Live rounds were fired and several people were injured as Katumbi addressed supporters in the coastal town of Moanda on Tuesday, marking an escalation in tension ahead of the vote.
There are differing accounts of the incident. The provincial government said in a statement that Katumbi's guards fired warning shots after the crowd grew rowdy, stoking tension and jostling. The police used tear gas to restore order.
Several people were injured, including a police officer who was seriously hurt, and investigations into the incident are ongoing, the statement said.
Katumbi said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that police shot live bullets at people and that the incident had been orchestrated to create violence.
"In order to avoid further provocation, I have decided to temporarily suspend my meeting with citizens in (the cities of) Kananga and Tshikapa," he said, referring to events scheduled for Wednesday.
Kananga and Tshikapa are in the Kasai-Central province, which is a stronghold for President Felix Tshisekedi's supporters.
Almost 44 million people are registered to vote in an election that will determine whether Tshisekedi will remain in office after a first term characterized by economic hardship and insecurity.
Katumbi is one of more than two dozen candidates in the presidential race that also includes leading opposition candidate Martin Fayulu and Nobel Peace Prize-winning gynecologist Denis Mukwege.
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