DRC braces for polls run-up

KINSHASA – The Democratic Republic of Congo, groping towards a democratic foundation for peace, enters the final stretch of an electoral process set to yield the country’s first freely-elected head of state in nearly half-a-century.

After the first-round of the presidential election this July was rocked by deadly violence, the official 15-day campaign period began for the October 29 runoff in which favoured incumbent Joseph Kabila was pitted against vice-president and bitter rival Jean-Pierre Bemba. More than 25 million voters in a country – roughly the size of western Europe – would be eligible to cast ballots for either of the candidates, the top two finishers – with 44.8% for Kabila, 20% for Bemba – among 30 presidential hopefuls in first-round voting this summer.The Congolese would also select deputies for regional assemblies who would in turn vote for senators and provincial governors.Local elections were to follow.In the July election, voters also elected a 500-seat parliament.Observers said the re-emergence of electoral politics in the DRC – known as Zaire until 1997 and the Belgian Congo before independence in 1960 – was an achievement in itself.Following 32 years of corrupt misrule under ex-dictator Mobutu Seso Seko, the country was plunged into five years of bloody war after neighbouring Rwanda invaded in 1998 to topple Kabila’s father, Laurent.Dubbed “Africa’s World War”, the conflict claimed nearly four million lives through war, famine and disease, and ruined what was left of the resource-rich country’s fragile economy and infrastructure.Joseph Kabila, who became president after his father was murdered in 2001, was appointed in early 2003 after a peace agreement to head a transitional government leading up to this year’s elections.Historic parliamentary elections culminated on September 22 in the opening session of the country’s first genuinely representative assembly in 46 years, with more than 200 out of 500 seats held by members of Kabila’s 31-party Alliance of the Presidential Majority.Another 100 formed an opposition bloc supporting Bemba, leader of the Rally of Congolese Nationalists.But, the road to democracy had not been smooth.The announcement on August 20 of preliminary results of first-round voting sparked three days of armed clashes in the capital, Kinshasa, including heavy artillery fire – between army forces loyal Kabila and Bemba, leaving 23 dead.An uneasy calm was restored with the help of thousands of peacekeepers grouped in two separate international forces, and both presidential candidates – under intense pressure from foreign powers – agreed to canton their security forces outside the capital.The United Nations mission in the DRC, known as Monuc, was the largest UN peacekeeping operation anywhere in the world, with some 17 600 troops on the ground supported by an additional 1 400 civilian personnel.Nampa-AFPMore than 25 million voters in a country – roughly the size of western Europe – would be eligible to cast ballots for either of the candidates, the top two finishers – with 44.8% for Kabila, 20% for Bemba – among 30 presidential hopefuls in first-round voting this summer.The Congolese would also select deputies for regional assemblies who would in turn vote for senators and provincial governors.Local elections were to follow.In the July election, voters also elected a 500-seat parliament.Observers said the re-emergence of electoral politics in the DRC – known as Zaire until 1997 and the Belgian Congo before independence in 1960 – was an achievement in itself.Following 32 years of corrupt misrule under ex-dictator Mobutu Seso Seko, the country was plunged into five years of bloody war after neighbouring Rwanda invaded in 1998 to topple Kabila’s father, Laurent.Dubbed “Africa’s World War”, the conflict claimed nearly four million lives through war, famine and disease, and ruined what was left of the resource-rich country’s fragile economy and infrastructure.Joseph Kabila, who became president after his father was murdered in 2001, was appointed in early 2003 after a peace agreement to head a transitional government leading up to this year’s elections.Historic parliamentary elections culminated on September 22 in the opening session of the country’s first genuinely representative assembly in 46 years, with more than 200 out of 500 seats held by members of Kabila’s 31-party Alliance of the Presidential Majority.Another 100 formed an opposition bloc supporting Bemba, leader of the Rally of Congolese Nationalists.But, the road to democracy had not been smooth.The announcement on August 20 of preliminary results of first-round voting sparked three days of armed clashes in the capital, Kinshasa, including heavy artillery fire – between army forces loyal Kabila and Bemba, leaving 23 dead.An uneasy calm was restored with the help of thousands of peacekeepers grouped in two separate international forces, and both presidential candidates – under intense pressure from foreign powers – agreed to canton their security forces outside the capital.The United Nations mission in the DRC, known as Monuc, was the largest UN peacekeeping operation anywhere in the world, with some 17 600 troops on the ground supported by an additional 1 400 civilian personnel.Nampa-AFP