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KINSHASA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Congolese demonstrators clashed with police in Kinshasa on Tuesday, demanding the destruction of millions of spare ballot papers printed for historic elections later this month. A Reuters reporter saw riot police detain several protesters and beat others with batons. At least two demonstrators were bleeding from head wounds they said were caused by police. Demonstrators distributed pamphlets in the name of 19 presidential candidates who last week demanded the postponement of the polls scheduled for July 30, which will be the first free elections in 40 years in Democratic Republic of Congo. The candidates complained that 5 million spare ballot papers should be destroyed to prevent them being used to fix the poll results. The electoral commission says it needs the spare ballots in case any others are destroyed by accident.
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