It would be impossible for the Democratic Republic of Congo to proceed with its first democratic elections as planned by the end of June, former colonial power Belgium said on Wednesday. The polls are a key part of a 2003 peace accord but government wrangling and legislative delays have cast doubt on the timetable. The deal allows for two delays of up to six months each, if approved by Congo's parliament. "It is clear to everyone on the ground that elections cannot be held in June, that it is impossible to do that," Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht told Belgium's parliament. Ties between Belgium and Congo were strained last year after de Gucht criticised the government in Kinshasa. Congo briefly recalled its ambassador from Brussels. Fears of unrest are running high in Africa's third-largest country where people are desperate for the polls to draw a line under one of the continent's most devastating wars. Talk of a possible postponement have led to street protests in a country still reeling from a five-year war, which sucked in six nations and killed nearly 4 million people, mainly from hunger and disease. --More 2122 Local Time 1822 GMT
