Congolese began voting on Sunday in a constitutional poll that if endorsed will usher in the first democratic elections in the vast country since independence from Belgium 45 years ago.
About 25-million eligible voters can tick an orange box to vote for the Constitution or a grey box to say ”no” in an exercise that includes about 40 000 polling stations in the central African country.
Time differences in the country as big as Western Europe saw polling stations in Bukavu in the north-eastern region opening an hour earlier than those of the capital Kinshasa which opened at 6am GMT.
There were no immediate reports of unopened polling stations, not least due to the dearth of logistical and communications infrastructure in the war shattered country.
Voting will continue until Monday, according to an electoral commission official in Kinshasa.
A ”yes” vote will mark the end of a three year transitional period that will usher in national elections before June 30 next year.
For many it will be the first time to exercise their voting rights, after decades of dictatorship and conflict.
If voters reject the document, Parliament will be forced to come up with a next text before elections can be held.
There are real fears that a ”no” vote could unravel 34-year-old President Joseph Kabila’s divided transitional government made up of the warring parties of a deadly conflict that ended only two years ago. – Sapa-DPA