SHAFAQNA – At least 11 people were killed on Tuesday in protests in Democratic Republic of Congo against a draft measure that could delay the 2016 presidential election, the government said on Wednesday, bringing the toll from two days of violence to 14.
Government spokesman Lambert Mende said the victims were a policeman and 10 civilians, killed by security guards as they tried to loot private property in Kinshasa.
Congo’s opposition parties called the protests on Monday in a bid to stop pro-government legislators approving a reform of the electoral code that would require a national census before the presidential vote. The opposition says that would delay the ballot by several years, extending President Joseph Kabila’s time in power.