DR Congo votes in campaign marred by violence

An armed attack and lengthy delays marred voting in the Democratic Republic of Congo's national elections on Monday after a campaign that saw deadly violence. Police in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi said armed men had swooped on a convoy of eight jeeps around 3:00 am (0100 GMT) and fled when police escorting the vehicles opened fire, wounding some of the assailants. Two jeeps carrying nearly 1,000 ballots caught fire and burned in the attack, AFP correspondents said. The city, capital of the restive mining province of Katanga, had been a flashpoint of political violence in the run-up to the elections. Earlier this month, two days of street fights between opposition and government supporters shut down parts of the city, as shop windows were shattered and pedestrians mugged. On Sunday, gunmen attacked a military camp and arms depot in the city, killing one and fleeing after exchanging gunfire with soldiers. It was not clear if either that raid or Monday's election convoy attack had any link to the partisan clashes during the campaign. Violence also marred the run-up to the vote in capital city Kinshasa. The last day of campaigning Saturday descended into chaos as police banned all rallies, using tear gas, water cannons and live ammunition to disperse opposition supporters. At least two people died in the unrest, though the exact circumstances were unclear. The campaign violence has drawn condemnation and calls for calm from the international community. Incumbent President Joseph Kabila, 40, in power since 2001, is running for a new five-year term in the polls against a field of 10 challengers. His main rival is veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, 78. The elections are just the second since back-to-back wars from 1996 to 2003 in a country that remains one of the world's poorest despite an abundance of cobalt, copper, diamonds and gold.  Though polling stations opened on time at 6:00 am in some areas, there were reports of undelivered ballots and long delays in others. Logistical headaches in organising the vote in a country two-thirds the size of western Europe -- and whose roads network is crumbling and limited after seven years of war and decades of under-development -- had raised fears the polls could be postponed. The election commission had to bring in 81 aircraft to deliver 64 million ballot papers to some 64,000 polling stations across the country, in a process plagued by delays. The run-up to the vote also saw allegations of fraud against the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), from opposition charges of "fictitious" polling stations to a leaked report by a consulting firm that said there were tens of thousands of ghost voters on the rolls. As voting opened in the capital, small groups of voters waited outside voting office 10189 at the Saint Georges school. The most senior official displayed the transparent ballot box, turning it upside down to prove it was empty at the start of the day. But the lines of voters had not started to move half an hour later. Rita, a 40-year-old mother of five, complained about the delay. "The station hasn't even opened and it's 6:30," she said, adding that she planned to vote "for change". "We need a president who loves this country," she told AFP. "Those who are in power reap the benefits for their own interests, and for the others, the people -- zero." "I'm fed up. I'm voting for change," echoed 19-year-old economics student Jeremie. "Even buying breakfast is hard for us in the Congo, especially in Kinshasa." Kabila, who was born on the other side of the country, in the eastern province of Sud-Kivu, is not widely popular in the capital. But he enjoys more popularity in other parts of the country, and -- as an incumbent running against a divided opposition in a single-round election -- is tipped as the favourite. The central African giant has 32 million registered voters. Provisional results of the presidential race are due December 6, while national assembly results are due January 13.