Official: Congo election can’t take place till 2019

Congo’s long-delayed presidential vote cannot take place until 2019 despite a deal with the opposition that it would occur this year, a top election official said Wednesday.

The opposition immediately called the move a power grab, accusing President Joseph Kabila of seeking to extend his rule. There had been indications the election would be pushed back to 2018, but the new announcement escalated an already tense situation in the vast Central African nation.

Kabila’s mandate ended in December, but a court has ruled that he can stay in office until the next election. The delay has been met with sometimes deadly protests in the capital, Kinshasa, and other major cities in the country of more than 77 million people.