The country's Catholic church has a long history of promoting democracy in the vast African country where organising elections has been complicated by financial and logistical problems, and where disputes over vote tampering have frequently caused widespread unrest. The election commission, CENI, has made insufficient progress creating a tripartite consultation framework between the majority, the opposition and civil society, and not invited international observers to ensure fair elections, CENCO said. The election commission did not respond to the comments and told Reuters that it will address the electorate on Sunday. The Catholic church is currently gearing up to monitor elections scheduled for December in which President Felix Tshisekedi will seek a second term in office. Reporting by Ange Kasongo; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: CENCO, Martin Fayulu, Felix Tshisekedi, Ange Kasongo, Anait, David Evans Organizations: Democratic, National Episcopal Conference of, Catholic, Reuters, Thomson Locations: KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of, National Episcopal Conference of Congo