Kinshasa, 31/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - All those who were able to visit the various polling stations in Kinshasa on Sunday 30 July were able to witness the huge turnout for the first democratic elections in 40 years. This massive participation was often motivated by a desire for change, which meant “useful votes” were made at the urns in favour of the main presidential candidates. The first results, counted on Sunday evening at the heart of the capital, seemed to show a clear lead for Jean-Pierre Bemba who, if there is a second round, would oppose outgoing president Joseph Kabila.
During the day, voters and electoral officials managed to overcome the many challenges linked to the complexity of the ballot and a relatively shaky organisation. Although some voting centres were set up in places allowing for quite a good organisation of voting procedures, others had neither the space nor the lighting necessary. In addition to the 33 presidential candidates there were over 9,000 candidates running for parliament and, in Kinshasa, the ballot sheet comprised 5 broad-sheet size pages on which voters had to seek the candidate they wished to vote for, this being a very time-consuming process. And yet, by six in the morning, queues had already started forming at the entrance to the polling stations comprising up to nine voting offices, which sometimes opened with a little delay and some muddling. Although one polling station was burnt down in the electoral stronghold of Etienne Tchisekedi, the only political personality to have refused to take part in the ballot and who had called for a boycott, few incidents were to be deplored despite a little tension here and there caused by manifest mistakes on the voting lists. Vote counting, which (as Congolese observers said with a smile) was carried out with great rigour by “amateurs” in some polling stations, carried on late into the night in Kinshasa, due to the fact that manipulating the five-page ballot papers was not an easy business. This kind of poll meant that voters shared out their votes for the legislative election (in some stations, many candidates only received one vote and few had more than five) or cast a blank vote. These operations were overseen by 1,720 foreign observers from the EU, in particular, as well as from the African Union, the SADC and non-governmental organisations.
The international observers were in addition to the national observers and a large number of journalists dispersed throughout the Congolese territory although a very large contingent was concentrated in Kinshasa due to the concerns recently voiced due to the incidents in the capital where over three million voters were to vote out of over 25 million registered for the whole of a territory the size of Western Europe. Thus, on Thursday, three police officers died in the capital, and the building housing the High Authority for the Media and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was pillaged and set alight. This, in addition to the lack of training, framework and pay for the armed forces and police forces, despite the efforts made with the support of the EU's EUPOL and EUSEC mission, was not very reassuring.
On 26 July, the EU electoral observation mission headed by MEP Philippe Morillon (ALDE, France) had sent out a communiqué recalling that it is everyone's responsibility to establish a climate that will favour free universal suffrage with the assurance that the voters' choice will be respected. The biggest EU mission ever formed to date, with 300 observers, also recalled a number of rules for the smooth running of the electoral process. It expressed concern about the use of complementary security forces. “The use of elements of the FARDC (Ed.: the army) in some polling stations should be conducted under the authority of accredited electoral personnel. The presence near polling stations of any other armed representative may be considered as an unacceptable instrument of pressure on the populations concerned”, the press release states. However, in reality, what concerned Europeans the most was the widespread feeling in Kinshasa that they supported Joseph Kabila. For the people of Kinshasa, “Uncle” Louis Michel had made his choice and they found this interference in Congolese politics inadmissible. The result was that Europeans have been targeted in the street and vehicles have had stones thrown at them in recent weeks. The day before the ballot, European Parliament observers who had just arrived issued a communiqué to distance themselves from the comments of the European Commissioner who had clearly given his support for the outgoing president on RTL just over two weeks ago. The president of the Parliament delegation, German Christian Democrat Jürgen Schröder, stressed that the mission of EU observers in DRC is solely to observe and monitor the electoral process. “They are not here to promote any one candidate or to influence the organisation of the poll”, he added, before going on to say: “For that reason, MEPs distance themselves from the comments made by Louis Michel, European Development
Commissioner, which could be seen as support for one of the presidential candidates. These remarks do not in any way reflect our or the EU's commitment to impartiality and our wish for the Congolese people to be able to express their political will freely”.
This idea of an EU-backed candidate or a candidate supported by any of the European capitals is also denied by European diplomats on post in Kinshasa, but it is very difficult for them to do so since Louis Michel's declaration. “I believe it is completely false”, Abby Apolinaire Malumalu, President of the Independent Electoral Commission, told a group of journalists. Although he does not believe the European capitals have any favourites, he nonetheless welcomes the “exceptional effort” made by the EU “in the aim of making the Congolese more responsible” by allocating €242 million to the electoral process. This is a way to “open up the future” of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the head of the delegation of the European Commission in Kinshasa put it. For this, however, the electoral process must be completed. The coming weeks will prove the most difficult. Results must now be compiled and this may take several weeks. The Congolese fear fraud during this period and generally expect further tension. It is in these circumstances that the force deployed by the EU, EUFOR, should prove its dissuasive effectiveness so that nothing and no-one derails the Congo's democracy.
Louis Michel praises smooth electoral process
Praising the way the elections have taken place, Louis Michel, European Development Commissioner, published the following declaration on 31 July: (unofficial translation)
“On 30 July 2006, the Democratic Republic of Congo held its first democratic and pluralist elections for 40 years. This is a dream come true for the Congolese. It goes back a long way and means that a real opportunity for renewal is now within reach. I would sincerely like to congratulate the Congolese people who have demonstrated maturity and shown their leaning towards democracy. I am pleased that, since 1999, I have counted on the Congolese people who were tired of war and conflict and who were resolved to move on to democracy, an irreversible process.
Pending publication of the results of the European Union's Electoral Observer Mission, which will be issuing an independent and rigorous evaluation of the conditions in which the ballot was held and its reliability, we are pleased to note that voting took place throughout the country without major incidents that could have endangered this long process. We wish in particular to pay tribute to the civic sense, to the restraint and democratic respect shown by the Congolese people throughout the polling procedure. This is a fundamental democratic act that bears witness to the importance that the Congolese people attach to this historic event. Their desire and determination will formally commit those who will be made legitimate and receive a legitimate mandate through this process.
At present, we urge the Congolese population and all the parties concerned to pursue their peaceful participation in this process in a spirit of national reconciliation and respect of democracy and rule of law in the general interest of the country. The European Commission, the largest fund provider for the electoral process, will continue to support the Congolese people and State in this new phase of its history”.