KINSHASA, CONGO
JOHN WESSELS/AFP/GETTY
Supporters of presidential candidate Martin Fayulu celebrate as they wait for him to speak at the launch of his campaign on November 21. Election season comes after two years of setbacks, broken promises and delays. President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled since his father’s assassination in 2001, remained in power after his second term ended in 2016 and had resisted efforts to force him to step down. Voters are now set to go to the polls on December 23 in what will be the first democratic transfer of power for a nation gripped by armed conflict and an Ebola outbreak.