Congo election: Many polling stations open late

What you need to know about Wednesday's elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):

• Some 44 million people — almost half the DRC's population — are expected to vote
• A candidate needs a majority of votes in the first round to win
• Several million people displaced by conflict in eastern DRC could struggle to cast their ballots
• Congolese citizens living in South Africa, Belgium, the US and France can also cast ballots

All times given are in GMT/UTC 

16:00: DW Africa's daily podcast AfricaLink. is live with the latest on the Congolese election. 

15:27: In a mid-poll update, the DRC's election commission (CENI) has acknowledged that some polling stations across the country opened late — up to seven hours late, the AP news agency reported — but CENI said that all polls would be open for the required duration of 11 hours, according to Reuters which cited CENI spokesperson Patricia Nseya.

Meanwhile, a provincial election commission official has told journalists that people displaced by violence in the east of the country had protested because they could not get back to their home towns to vote.

14:40: Polling stations "have problems with machines, batteries," the archbishop of Kinshasa, Fridolin Ambongo, told reporters after casting his vote. "Solutions need to be found quickly, otherwise the elections are going to go on for several days."

14:10: Not all eligible voters will be able to cast their ballots in today's election. DW correspondent Ruth Alonga spoke to internally displaced people in the Kanyaruchinya camp near Goma in the east of the DRC, many of whom have fled from M23 rebels in the towns of Masisi and Rutshuru. They told DW that they cannot take part in the elections due to a lack of voter cards.

"I am here in Kanyaruchinya camp as an IDP, but I am registered on the voters' rolls in Rutshuru because that's where I'm from, so I was not allowed to vote here," one Conglese man told DW. "It is the same for others of us from Masisi. It hurts our souls that we can't vote like the others. We feel discriminated against!"

"I didn't get a chance to register for the elections," a Congolese woman told DW, explaining that she had traveled to her parents in Kitshanga and by the time she returned to the camp, registrations had closed. "I wish the government would help those who didn't get cards so that they can still vote, she added, "because then we could elect politicians who would end the war and allow us to return home."

11:47: Leading opposition candidates in DR Congo's presidential election have complained that voters faced "chaos" and "irregularities" as they tried to cast their ballots.

What did the opposition candidates say?

"We're waiting for all voters to cast their ballots, otherwise we won't accept these elections," Martin Fayulu has warned. 

"We have seen many irregularities since this morning in the polling stations," Moise Katumbi told reporters, asking voters to keep a watchful eye on the process until the end.

10:48: Presidential candidate Moise Katumbi has voted in his hometown of Lubumbashi. " I would like to ask my supporters to remain at every polling station because we have to monitor the results till the end," Moise told reporters. Katumbi, a 58-year-old businessman and former governor of mineral-rich Katanga province, has been the main target of attacks from incumbent president Felix Tshisekedi. 

10:14: "Voting is a duty that every Congolese must fulfill. I don't support 'stay at home' politics. Voters should be free to choose their preferred candidates," said Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu. The Catholic Church has a long history of promoting democracy in the vast African country where organizing elections has been complicated by financial and logistical problems, and disputes over vote tampering have frequently caused widespread unrest. 

09:30: "It is a total chaos," said presidential candidate Martin Fayulu, one of the main contenders for the Congolese presidency. "If all the people don't vote in all the polling stations indicated by the CENI (national election commission), we won't accept these elections," Fayulu warned after casting his ballot, adding that he would be at the forefront of any protest.

08:37: Congolese journalist Adrien Ambanengo reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has postponed the election in the Kabongo territory of Haut Lomami in south-eastern Katanga province by three days. He said residents told him that CENI gave no reason for the postponement. 

08:24: Voting has begun in Kinshasa, Goma, and north-eastern Kisangani, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.

08:02: DW correspondent Wendy Bashi says the deliveries of voting equipment to a polling station she visited in the Masina municipality of Kinshasa's Tshangu district have been delayed.

07:42: A Paris-based voter says it took five minutes to cast her ballot at the Congolese Embassy in the French capital. 

07:27: A voter in the capital Kinshasa tells the Associated Press (AP) that he's voting for hope. "When you wake up in the morning you're hoping for good things, good work, and I want security,"  Raymond Yuma says. According to AP, the voting cards Yuma and three others who are also waiting to cast their ballots have are not illegible.

07:01: Supporters of Joelle Bile, who withdrew from the presidential race on December 15, say they will accompany her to the polls to cast her ballot. The former journalist and one of only two women candidates in the presidential race, is now backing incumbent Tshisekedi. 

06:42: 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.  

06:18: Polling stations have opened in the general election, and will close at 5 p.m. local time (16:00 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.

While you're here: Every weekday, we host AfricaLink, a podcast packed with news, politics, culture and more. You can listen and follow AfricaLink wherever you get your podcasts. 

Edited by: Isaac Mugabi, Benita van Eyssen and Keith Walker