Congo's elections 'delayed,' says President Joseph Kabila

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France says it's seeking EU sanctions to press Congolese President Joseph Kabila to make way for elections. Visiting Tanzania, Kabila has denied causing a crisis by footdragging but claims polling must be delayed.

The French foreign ministry said Tuesday the EU should use "all means at its disposal," including sanctions, to bring about a political transition in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Prosecution was also needed "against those guilty of human rights violations," said ministry spokesman Romain Nidal, referring to the deaths of dozens of people in recent clashes between protestors and security forces.


The US Treasury last month imposed sanctions on two of Kabila's top aides - a general and a former senior police officer in what appeared to be a move to apply pressure.
Preparations still needed
Kabila on Tuesday denied that he was behind delays in organizing a November election, just weeks before his term officially expires, saying preparations still had to be made for up to 10 million unregistered voters, "most of them young voters."

He was visiting Tanzania to discuss oil exploration in the Lake Tanganyika area.
He also denied that outbreaks of fatal violence, mainly in Kinshasa in mid-September, amounted to a political crisis.

"What is happening at the moment is just some political tension ahead of elections, which is a normal thing in many parts of Africa," said Kabila who has been in office for 15 years.
On Saturday, DR Congo's electoral commission said presidential, provincial and national legislative elections would be held "simultaneously in November 2017," far beyond the scheduled expiry of Kabila's term in office.