Candidates Call for Election Postponement in the Congo
By CCD Staff, July 14, 2006

Of the thirty-three presidential candidates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, twenty have asked for a postponement of the country’s July 30th elections because of its questionable organization, reported Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

In a declaration to the country’s independent electoral commission, the candidates questioned the printing of 5 million extra ballots, and said the ballots were a sign the government was trying to rig the election. There have also been accusations that President Joseph Kabila has used government sources to “harass his opponents and stifle media freedom ahead of the polls,” according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

"There are too many ballot papers and the process is not transparent," said presidential candidate and Scientific Research Minister Gerard Kamanda Wa Kamanda, according to BBC News. "Many people will come to the streets and demonstrate to show they are opposed to not credible elections in this country."

The electoral commission has said it will reduce the number of extra ballots to 2 million, but insisted there were no irregularities in the electoral process. The country has more than 25 million registered voters and 50,000 polling places.

The UN is helping to organize the elections, and has said the country is ready to hold its first elections in 45 years, according to UPI. 17,000 UN peacekeepers – the largest peacekeeping force in the world – are in the Congo to make sure the elections occur peacefully and will remain until September 30.