Poll hopes fading fast

A vote to replace President Joseph Kabila will probably not be possible this year, the head of the DRC’s electoral commission said in a move that will violate a deal that let Kabila stay on past the end of his mandate. Al Jazeera reports that Kabila's refusal to step down at the end of his second elected term in December last year sparked protests that left several people dead. 'The parameters at our disposal give us, more or less, reason to think that, in December, it will probably not be possible to stick to that date,’ said commission president Corneille Nangaa. Under the accord struck on 31 December between Kabila's representatives and opposition leaders, Kabila is also barred from trying to change the Constitution to stand for a third term. However, Kabila has said only the electoral commission can schedule the vote once it finishes enrolling millions of voters. And in a June media interview, he said he had ‘promised nothing’ with regards to his political future.