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After five years of civil war and forty more years of continual conflict, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) held its first democratic elections since its independence in 1960. The Congolese people and international observers hope the elections, the most complex and expensive ever held, and subsequent government will bring peace to the war-torn country. |
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This section will monitor developments regarding the election and its aftermath. For a more in-depth look at the situation in DR Congo, please visit our Congo in Context section.
11/6/06
11/2/06
10/27/06
10/11/06
Below is media coverage of recent developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo from late September to mid-October. These articles relate to the peace and stability of the country at a crucial time: the upcoming second round of presidential elections. There is an in-depth analysis of the first round of the presidential elections as well as reporting on the recent fighting between the UN army and militia forces. One article addresses increased tensions between the DRC and its neighbors Rwanda and Uganda, and another describes the increased humanitarian aid given to the country by the EU. Additionally, there is a report on human rights abuses in the country for the month of September and an article highlighting a non-violence agreement made by the two presidential candidates for the next election.
10/10/06
Here is a comprehensive, very detailed, report on the first round of Presidential elections in the Congo, including reported “irregularities.”
10/10/06
12 militia fighters were killed by army forces (MONUC: the UN Mission in the Congo) in the Ituri province. The fighters were part of the Front des résistants patriotes de l'Ituri (FRPI), a group which opposes “a programme to demobilise and integrate militias into the national army or into civilian life.” Click here for the story.
10/09/06
This is a report on all reported human rights abuses in the DRC September.
10/08/06
A false Western news story is thwarting diplomatic relations between the DRC, Uganda, and Rwanda. The Toronto Star (Canada) published an “article claiming that two university professors developed evidence that Uganda and Rwanda intentionally sent HIV infected soldiers, with orders to rape women, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the 1998 war.” However, the Great Lakes Centre for Strategic Studies (GLCSS), a group that monitors the media in “for false or misleading stories” and trains African journalists, has determined that this story was wrongfully reported. The DRC did file a charge with the International Court of Justice in 1999 but did not levy this specific allegation against either country. Additionally, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights “did rule on the issue of rape in the Congo and did not confirm this specific allegation in their extensive ruling.” Click here for the story.
10/04/06
The European Commission approved an additional 5 million euros in humanitarian aid to help people in the Katanga province who have been displaced due to fighting between the militias and the army. Click here for the story.
09/25/06
The two presidential candidates in the DRC “have agreed to make Kinshasa a weapons-free zone to ensure that the fighting that followed the first-round results in August is not repeated…The document states that the measures are designed to reassure the local population that it is safe to vote in the run-off election scheduled for 29 October.” Although the agreement calls for each candidate to “keep their troops in the barracks during the second round and to respect the weapons ban,” there was no stated mechanism of enforcement. Click here for the article.
8/25/06
Fighting broke out in Kinshasa, the capital of DR Congo, between troops loyal to President Joseph Kabila and former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba as neither candidate garnered more than fifty percent of the vote in DR Congo’s recent presidential elections, according to The Washington Post. The fighting, which has left thirty-one people dead, is the worst Kinshasa has seen since the peace accords were signed in 2002. A cease-fire was brokered between the forces by the U.N. on August 22, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan encouraged the two candidates to meet before the Oct. 29 runoff elections in order to ease political tensions.
7/31/06
Polls were open for a second day in an area where few people voted on Sunday, likely because of a boycott called for by one presidential candidate, reported The Washington Post. Even though election results will not be announced until mid-August, former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba's party, the Congolese Liberation Movement, claimed to be in the lead in more than 50 percent of DR Congo’s provinces.
7/28/06
The U.S. Department of State announced Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer will be leading the U.S. election observation team in DR Congo. The U.S. observers will be part of 5,000 local and 500 international election observers that include the European Union, the Carter Center, and the South African Development Community.
The United Nations peacekeepers have been working to disarm the militias still active within DR Congo. In the eastern region, 20,000 rebels have turned in their weapons, according to BBC News, but it is unknown how many rebels are still armed. The UN also negotiated a ceasefire agreement with rebel militias, but there are fears that word of the agreement will not reach fighters hiding in the forests in time for the elections, according to The Daily Telegraph.
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