DRC: UN Fears Violence Could Mar Upcoming Elections

By Eunice Kilonzo

KINSHASA---The first round of the presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as the legislative, will be held November 28, 2011, according to the schedule released by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Failure to elect the president in the first round, a runoff will be held February 26, 2012, when elections will also be held for the provincial legislation, said the president of the IEC, Apollinaire Malu Malu Muholongo, during a press briefing in Kinshasa.

These elections are three weeks away and the DRC is a nation severely deficient in terms of the transportation infrastructure necessary to expeditiously disseminate these electoral materials.  There is great anxiety surrounding the financial and logistical milestones that have been repeatedly delayed in combination with the Congolese government’s hostility toward any modification to what many believe to be an unrealistic electoral calendar.  The actions taken by the Congolese authorities charged with administering these elections strain at credulity and increasingly point to a situation in which the Congolese electorate and international community will be presented with one of two disastrous outcomes. 

In addition the arrival of Jean Ping, Chairman of the African Union in DRC underlines concerns that the upcoming election in the central African country could spark violence. Ping also urged presidential candidates to abide by the outcome of an election this month, after one of the leading challengers to President Joseph Kabila declared himself already head of state.

"There will necessarily be only one winner (of the presidential elections)... The rules of the game must apply. Whoever can't become president this time must accept the results," Ping said after his arrival via Radio Okapi.

Veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi said Kabila had lost his legitimacy, and called on his supporters to attack prisons where UDPS supporters are being held if the authorities do not release them.

"Kabila is supported by no one but his own family. The people have put their faith in me, henceforth I am the head of state".

However the ugly side of the ongoing campaigns is evident. For instance in Lubumbashi, Congo's copper mining capital, members of Tshisekedi's party clashed on Saturday with those of the pro-Kabila party. Both sides said the other was responsible and there were further clashes on Monday. A week earlier, a girl was shot dead as police broke up an opposition march. The UN fears it could get worse as it has documented a “worrying number” of human rights violations in the DRC that appear to be tied to the country's upcoming elections.

The agency said that during a ten-month period beginning in November of last year, it documented at least 188 cases linked to the electoral process. They included infringement of people's right to express themselves, assemble peacefully and to be free and secure. The report further highlights that most of the incidents involved elements of the Congolese National Police or the National Intelligence Service targeting members or supporters of opposition parties. The report said civilians were threatened, beaten and arrested on several occasions by police agents for wearing opposition parties' T-shirts.

The UN has called on the international community to step up its efforts in training DRC security forces, which it said are “heavily underpaid and poorly trained and equipped.”

The impact of the electoral violence campaigns has crossed the borders. According to the Rwanda Revenue Authority there has been cross-border businesses decline, hence a decrease in customs revenues, particularly in the last three days.

"The violence has been at its highest in the last three days, that's when we experienced a slump in business activities across the border with DR Congo," said Patrick Mawiya, a tax official in the western region.

A group of people this week attacked and vandalised Amani Petro Station which they allege belongs to one Desire Rwabahenda, believed to be a Rwandan.

Campaigning has formally begun in Congo, where President Joseph Kabila faced a divided opposition during the election. Mr. Kabila has been president since 2001, when he took office after the death of his father, Laurent Kabila. He won the country's last presidential election in 2006.

DRC is a nation of approximately 70 million people that borders nine other countries.  It has been “blessed” with an abundance of natural resources, including the second largest river in the world and some of the most precious metals and minerals.  In spite of its many geological assets (an estimated $24 Trillion in unexplored natural resource wealth, according to a story in the African Business Magazine), the DRC has been plagued by interminable conflict that has resulted in the death of close to 6 million people since 1998.