Kinshasa – Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa on Friday fired tear gas at dozens of demonstrators protesting electoral reform, wounding 12 people, according to the organisers.
Last month, the national assembly in the vast central African state began to debate revising the country’s electoral law, with the ruling party citing the need to prevent fraud during elections.
But senior opposition figures and lay Catholic and Protestant groups have opposed the move, arguing that there must be political consensus on the scope of the reform before deputies debate it.
On Friday, dozens of youngsters gathered in Kinshasa’s government district for a demonstration against the reform, organised by the lay groups and opposition figures.
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Twelve protesters were wounded, the DRC’s main Catholic and Protestant lay groups said in a joint statement, with two “between life and death”.
An AFP correspondent saw police firing tear gas at protesting youth, two of whom were injured.
Officers also hustled four protesters into a jeep, according to the correspondent, including former health minister Felix Kabange.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Facebook/Jean Kailanga
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