Democracy News

DRC Announces General Election Date
August 17, 2011
By: Carlos Aramayo | Printer Friendly

On August 9, Apolinaire Malu Malu, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), announced that the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections will held on November 27. If a candidate is not elected president during the first round, a run-off will be held on February 26, 2012, the same date on which elections will be held for members of provincial parliaments, Congo Planet reported.

According to Christian Science Monitor, the voter registration process has been marred by a series of alleged abuses, including accusations of children, "ghosts" and foreigners being registered across the country. Nevertheless, candidates have recently been campaigning relatively freely, after initially facing stiff repression. Jason Stearns, a respected Congo analyst stated, “Perhaps the most striking feature of this electoral season in Congo is the uncertainty. No one has a good, well-founded prediction for who will win the elections.” Additionally, civil society activist Donat Mbaya stated that this uncertainty is setting the electoral cycle up for unrest since “no candidate will admit defeat.”

In a discussion of vote rigging, the Christian Science Monitor identifies that vote rigging can take place prior a poll or on the day of a poll. Pre-electoral rigging could take place by skewing the voter registration process, by setting up more registration centers, or by registering ghosts/children/foreigners. Vote rigging on the day of an election can take place by abusing state resources to support the incumbent candidate by using the security apparatus to favor its candidacy and the repress opponents’ supporters.

According to Democracy Digest, the impending elections will “not resolve and may even inflame tensions in a country already suffering the most violent human conflict since World War II.” Congolese activists have expressed fears of violence during the elections’ lead up as well as the aftermath. Additionally, activists have overwhelmingly endorsed the view that the elections should not be perceived as a solution to Congo’s problems. In an effort to diminish the prospects of violence Congolese activists suggested that the international community should invest heavily in funding the local Congolese media sector in the lead up and aftermath of the elections, in addition to supporting domestic election monitoring through civil society.

The DRC is located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa  and has a population of nearly 71 million. The Second Congo War, beginning in 1998, devastated the country, involved seven foreign armies and is sometimes referred to as the African World War. Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the eastern part of the country where the prevalence of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world. The war is the world's deadliest conflict since World War II, killing 5.4 million people.

For previous news on the DRC, please see:
International Women’s Day: a Chance for Progress in the DRC

Sources:
Christian Science Monitor – Congo election season in full swing, along with electoral problems

Democracy Digest – Elections are no solution, say Congolese activists

Congo Planet – Electoral Commission Sets Date for 2011 Presidential Election

Christian Science Monitor – Rumblings of war in heart of Africa

The Economist – Africa's great war