Beginning of the Congolese legislative vote in areas affected by the Ebola virus

BENI, Congo (AP) – Voters who have not had the chance to take part in the Congolese presidential election due to the Ebola epidemic and violence voted in urns this Sunday before the law.

The inhabitants of the cities of Beni and Butembo, in eastern Congo, were not included in the January presidential vote. At the time, government officials said the decision was made because of the Ebola virus, although the current outbreak remains a threat and the number of cases is still increasing this week.

Voters had to wash their hands before entering polling stations on Sunday to prevent the transmission of the disease. The Ebola virus, a very deadly virus, is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of sick people.

Malikidogo Kathembo, a 48-year-old farmer, has voted in Beni for national and regional legislatures, although he remains unhappy with what happened in January. Kathembo remains skeptical about the reason given for preventing the people of Beni from voting in the presidential election.

"We voted today despite Ebola, so why did they refuse (in January) to let us vote?" He asked. "I think it was a political gesture to block us."

Polling stations were also open in Butembo, which is now the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak and which is now the second most deadly in history with more than 1,000 deaths. Voters could also attend Sunday in Yumbi, where the January vote was canceled due to intercommunal violence.

The decision to cancel the presidential elections in areas affected by the Ebola virus has only increased the suspicion of the use of the epidemic for political or financial purposes, observers said. . Health workers found it difficult to convince patients to seek treatment at health centers, which resulted in the infection of other people infected with the Ebola virus.

A study published last week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases revealed that a quarter of those polled in September in Beni and Butembo felt that the Ebola virus was not real.

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Editors Associated Press Saleh Mwanamilongo in New York and Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.