Africa's youngest president, Joseph Kabila, is facing the worst Ebola outbreak in history and an election marred by irregularities

Electoral observers say the voting process witnessed widespread irregularities and also an alleged voting fraud.
Preliminary results are expected to come in on Sunday, January 6, 2019.
Joseph Kabila, the youngest African president, has ruled for more than 18 years.

Elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been marred by irregularities even as the country recorded the worst Ebola outbreak in 2018.

The irregularities in DR Congo's late presidential election put several questions to the reign of President Joseph Kabila whose tenure had expired since 2016.

Kabila, the youngest African president, who became president at the age of 29 after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila, has been accused of tactically delaying elections due almost 3 years ago.

Fixed on December 30, 2018, electoral observers said the voting process witnessed widespread irregularities and also alleged voting fraud.

CENCO (Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo) said there was a clear winner and waiting the country's electoral body to count and announce the result. The Congo's Catholic Church is also set to mediate in post-election talks.

Preliminary results are expected to come in on Sunday, January 6, 2019, and the final result due for January 15 but the electoral body is calling for more time to cover more than 80% of the local vote tallies.

Election in DR Congo AFPTV

Kabila cuts internet to halt ‘fake’ circulation of election results

The Joseph Kabila government had cut internet access to halt the spread of fake news which could spark violence. But the opposition described the move as a fraudulent.

From Cameroon to Togo, Sudan, African nations, most authoritarian governments are notorious for shutting down the internet and social media thereby trapping down on citizen's rights.

The inauguration of the next president will be on January 18, 2019, according to the electoral calendar.