WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to face obstacles in the transition to democracy after the presidential and parliamentary elections this summer.
This was made public by the president of the commission responsible for organizing and overseeing the elections.
The elections, rescheduled Monday for the third time and now planned for July 30, will be the country's first elections in four decades. They are part of a peace agreement that Congolese political and rebel groups signed in July 2002, ending a five-year civil war in which an estimated three million people died.
According to the most recent reports, 33 candidates are running for president and 9,362 are competing for the 500 legislative seats in Parliament.
The elections will restore political order and resolve certain social or economic issues, but the Congo will later face more unsettling challenges, which may jeopardize a smooth transition to democracy, Apollinaire Malu Malu, president of the Congo's Independent Electoral Commission said.
Of all the challenges, security is both the largest concern and the hardest to overcome, he said.
