Democracy News

Election Year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Brings Coup Attempt
March 10, 2011
By: Carlos Aramayo | Printer Friendly

On February 27, more than 50 heavily armed men reportedly attacked the presidential palace and a military installation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) capital city of Kinshasa. The attackers, armed with weapons ranging from machetes to rocket-propelled grenades did not manage to break through the first security checkpoint that surrounds the residence where President Joseph Kabila and his family live. The New York Times reports that the intense shootout lasted for approximately 20 minutes before the assailants were chased out of the area in the direction of Kokolo camp, the largest garrison of arms and ammunition in Kinshasa.

According to the BBC, President Kabila and his family were unharmed. Presidential spokesperson Lambert Mende stated that 10 assailants were shot dead and 30 were taken into custody. Following the attempt, army and police units patrolled throughout Kinshasa’s business district of Gombe.

The cause of the attack is still under investigation and the DRC government is waiting for the judiciary to determine the motivation behind the attempted coup. According to the Voice of America, presidential spokesperson Mende stated, “We can call them terrorists, but it is the prosecutors and the judges who will decide finally.”

Recently, controversy has surrounded the parliament due to its backing of President Kabila’s proposal to reduce presidential elections from two rounds to one. The change would mean that the winner can claim victory with less than 50 percent of the vote. According to the BBC, the president's supporters also want to get rid of proportional representation in order to build a stronger parliamentary majority.

"President Joseph Kabila's initiative to revise the constitution and consequently the electoral law... is inappropriate," AFP news agency quotes Francois Mwamba of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo as stating. Furthermore, he added, "It has the sole aim of organizing fraud on a grand scale and of allowing a single individual to confiscate all state powers."

As the electoral law stands at the moment, if no single candidate wins with more than 50 percent of the vote in November 2011, a second round will be held in February 2012, the BBC reports. The DRC achieved peace in 2003 after a bloody civil war where more than five million people died. The eastern part of the country is still plagued militias who spread violence. According to the UN it is the “rape capital of the world.”

President Kabila took power in 2006, following elections that were deemed to be fair and democratic by the United Nations and other international observer missions.

Previous articles on the Democratic Republic of Congo, please see:
Opposition Politicians Challenge Congo Election Date

Sources:
Voice of America – DRC official: Investigation to Follow Presidential Residence Attack

New York Times – Gunmen in Congo Attack President’s House

BBC – DR Congo: Six killed in 'coup bid' against Kabila

BBC – DR Congo opposition anger over electoral changes

BBC – First Results posted in DR Congo

EU Observer - Congo drone crash compounds EU soldiers' image problem