Historic opening for DR Congo parliament

KINSHASA – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s first freely elected parliament in four decades officially opened on Friday in a highly emotional atmosphere.

“I declare open the first plenary session of the National Assembly,” said parliamentary secretary-general, Constant Tshiswaka, after which the new legislators stood up – some visibly moved – to sing the national anthem, which urges Congolese to create “a more beautiful country. Tshiswaka solemnly reminded legislators of their “heavy responsibility” in leading the country down the path of democracy, after which the 438 deputies present – out of a total of 500 – elected an interim parliamentary bureau.Proceedings were then suspended until Saturday when a commission was to be set up to verify the mandates of all those elected on July 30 in the country’s first multi-party ballot.”I received a mandate from my constituency to end the enslavement of the Bondo territory,” said deputy Luci Kipele, of her region in the northeast.”In Bondo, there are no schools, no hospitals, no roads.We came with the firm determination to change this situation,” she told AFP.Another deputy, Christophe Mboso Nkodia from Bandunu in the west said the task facing the new parliament was “enormous.””We will do our best to restore this country’s soul,” Nkodia said.More than 200 seats in the 500-seat parliament are held by members of the 31-party Alliance of the Presidential Majority, headed by 35-year-old president Joseph Kabila.Another hundred form an opposition bloc supporting Kabila’s main re-election rival Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Rally of Congolese Nationalists (Renaco).The two men will face off in a second round of presidential elections on October 29.The make-up of the parliamentary assembly reflects results of the first round of the presidential ballot, in which Kabila scored 44,4 per cent of the vote, and Bemba won 20 per cent.While short of an absolute majority, Kabila’s party will probably be able to form a government with the support of two other blocs, both of which have promised to back his alliance.The Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU) of Antoine Gizenga, the country’s third largest party, announced Thursday it would vote for Kabila on October 29 and back the president’s party in parliament.Gizenga, 80, came third in the first round of the presidential poll in July, with 13 per cent.His support is concentrated in Bandundu province and Kinshasa, where Kabila is weaker.Kabila can also count on nine deputies aligned with Nzanga Mobutu, son of late dictator Joseph-Desire Mobutu, who ruled the then Zaire for 32 years.The last multi-party parliamentary election in the DRC came in 1965, just months before Mobutu seized power.The creation of the new assembly and the presidential election are the final stages in a three-year peace process that followed the DRC’s 1998-2003 civil war.At its height, that conflict involved the armies of at least six neighbouring countries.The profile of the new legislature is largely male and young, the average age being around 50, with the youngest MP just 25 years old.Of the 1 374 female candidates only 42 were elected.Nampa-AFPTshiswaka solemnly reminded legislators of their “heavy responsibility” in leading the country down the path of democracy, after which the 438 deputies present – out of a total of 500 – elected an interim parliamentary bureau.Proceedings were then suspended until Saturday when a commission was to be set up to verify the mandates of all those elected on July 30 in the country’s first multi-party ballot.”I received a mandate from my constituency to end the enslavement of the Bondo territory,” said deputy Luci Kipele, of her region in the northeast.”In Bondo, there are no schools, no hospitals, no roads.We came with the firm determination to change this situation,” she told AFP.Another deputy, Christophe Mboso Nkodia from Bandunu in the west said the task facing the new parliament was “enormous.””We will do our best to restore this country’s soul,” Nkodia said.More than 200 seats in the 500-seat parliament are held by members of the 31-party Alliance of the Presidential Majority, headed by 35-year-old president Joseph Kabila.Another hundred form an opposition bloc supporting Kabila’s main re-election rival Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Rally of Congolese Nationalists (Renaco).The two men will face off in a second round of presidential elections on October 29.The make-up of the parliamentary assembly reflects results of the first round of the presidential ballot, in which Kabila scored 44,4 per cent of the vote, and Bemba won 20 per cent.While short of an absolute majority, Kabila’s party will probably be able to form a government with the support of two other blocs, both of which have promised to back his alliance.The Unified Lumumbist Party (PALU) of Antoine Gizenga, the country’s third largest party, announced Thursday it would vote for Kabila on October 29 and back the president’s party in parliament.Gizenga, 80, came third in the first round of the presidential poll in July, with 13 per cent.His support is concentrated in Bandundu province and Kinshasa, where Kabila is weaker.Kabila can also count on nine deputies aligned with Nzanga Mobutu, son of late dictator Joseph-Desire Mobutu, who ruled the then Zaire for 32 years.The last multi-party parliamentary election in the DRC came in 1965, just months before Mobutu seized power.The creation of the new assembly and the presidential election are the final stages in a three-year peace process that followed the DRC’s 1998-2003 civil war.At its height, that conflict involved the armies of at least six neighbouring countries.The profile of the new legislature is largely male and young, the average age being around 50, with the youngest MP just 25 years old.Of the 1 374 female candidates only 42 were elected.Nampa-AFP