Congo

Articles about voting issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Leader's party loses 45 percent of its seats | The Associated Press

Feb 032012

President Joseph Kabila’s party has lost 45 percent of the legislative seats it held before November elections that were denounced as fraudulent and chaotic, according to belated results announced Thursday by Congo’s electoral commission. Kabila still will command a majority in parliament, where his coalition of several parties has won about 260 of the 500 seats, down from more than 300 in the previous assembly. Officials from the discredited electoral commission announced the last of the winning legislators Thursday in results it has issued piecemeal and following a suspension of the count from the Nov. 28 balloting. Read More »

Congo’s presidential coalition leading parliament race; call to annul votes in 7 districts | The Washington Post

Jan 282012

Two months after voters went to polls in a chaotic election, the electoral commission announced Friday that parties supporting Congo’s president won two-thirds of legislative seats. The commission also indefinitely postponed provincial elections that were scheduled for March. Electoral officials said they also want to annul results of the legislative elections in seven of Congo’s 169 voting districts and prosecute a dozen candidates accused of introducing irregularities and violence. Local and international observers have already said the Nov. 28 elections for the president and 500 national assembly seats were too flawed to be legitimate. It was only the second democratic election Congo has ever held, with the stability of the mineral-rich African nation at stake. Critics say any election results are unreliable because millions of voters were unable to cast ballots, hundreds of thousands of ballots have been tampered with and 1.3 million completed ballots went missing. Read More »

Congolese Have Lost Confidence in the Electoral Commission, Catholic Bishops Say | Congo Planet

Jan 142012

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The National Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for the members of the Independent National Electoral Commission to change their practices or resign following the mismanagement of last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections. In a declaration released on Thursday after a three-day meeting in Kinshasa, the bishops said that they “believe the electoral process was marred by serious flaws that call into question the credibility of the results published” by the electoral commission. Read More »

Vote count halts until foreign experts come | AFP

Dec 262011

The electoral commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has halted the vote count for parliamentary elections until experts arrive from the United States and Britain, it announced Monday. The independent national electoral commission (CENI), which has registered many complaints regarding the presidential and parliamentary elections of November 28, said it did not know when these experts would come, or how many there would be.

“There has been a first meeting at the political level, with the ambassadors of the United States and Great Britain,” followed by a “technical” meeting with the UN mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), Jacques Djoli, vice-president of the CENI, told AFP.

“Discussions must continue. We hope that at the latest tomorrow or after tomorrow things will become clearer, because we already have results that need to be validated and a population that is awaiting the end of the process,” Djoli added. Read More »

Counting halted in parliamentary vote | BBC

Dec 232011

Vote counting in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s parliamentary elections has been halted, the election commission has said. It said it needed international help to complete counting following allegations of rigging in the 28 November polls. More than 18,000 candidates contested 500 parliamentary seats.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi plans to inaugurate himself as president on Friday after rejecting the incumbent Joseph Kabila’s victory. These were the first elections organised by the election commission since the end of the war in 2003 – the first poll in 2006 was held under the auspices of the UN. Read More »

Opposition leader seeks army backing | Al Jazeera

Dec 202011

Congo’s top opposition figure has urged the armed forces to obey him after losing elections he says were fraudulent. Etienne Tshisekedi said on Sunday he would offer a “great prize” to anyone who captured President Joseph Kabila.

A close aide to Kabila dismissed Tshisekedi’s comments as showmanship and said the opposition leader had made similar calls against former President Mobutu Sese Seko that had been ignored by the people. However, the veteran politician’s comments do threaten to escalate a row over the results of a November 28 presidential contest, which international observers say lacked credibility.

“I call on all of you to look for [Kabila] wherever he is in the country and bring him here alive,” Tshisekedi said in his first news conference since official figures showed he was soundly beaten by Kabila. ”If you bring Kabila here to me you’ll receive a great prize,” he said, urging the armed forces to obey the country’s “legitimate authority”. Read More »

Tshisekedi Says He Won, Can He Prove It? | Congo Planet

Dec 192011

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Unlike the Independent National Electoral Commission, which published the results of the presidential election showing why it says Joseph Kabila won and for everyone to see and scrutinize, Etienne Tshisekedi has so far provided no proof to support his claim of an outright victory. Yet, the longtime opposition leader has said, once again, that he now considers himself president.
Does Mr. Tshisekedi expect all Congolese to just trust his word? He must have proof that he is the one who was elected. Not Joseph Kabila, Vital Kamerhe, or Kengo wa Dongo. There must be pictures out there, videos, signed summaries of the tallies at polling stations,… These claims of victory, coming from such a respected politician, cannot be baseless.

Of course, Mr. Tshisekedi declared himself president even before the Nov. 28 presidential elections. His proof then was that “the Congolese people have already chosen me.” Well, maybe in a parallel universe they did. But in this world, we humbly ask for proof of Mr. Tshisekedi’s victory. The Carter Center, the European Union, the United States, have said that the elections “lacked credibility”, “were not transparent”, “were seriously flawed.” Great! Maybe someone out there has the proof that Mr. Tshisekedi won. Or do they? It’s one thing to say that the 2011 elections were marred with irregularities; it’s completely different to claim that the opposition won. Even these international observers missions have not gone that far. Read More »

Supreme court upholds Joseph Kabila's election victory | guardian.co.uk

Dec 172011

Congo’s supreme court has upheld President Joseph Kabila’s victory following a contested election, raising fears of more violence in sub-Saharan Africa’s largest nation because the main opposition candidate has already rejected the results. The November election was only the second democratic vote in Congo’s 51-year history, and the first to be organised by the Congolese government rather than by the international community. Observers have expressed concern about irregularities, saying voter turnout results were impossibly high in some districts.

Kabila, Congo’s incumbent president, faced 10 candidates, including Etienne Tshisekedi, a 79-year-old longtime opposition leader who is enormously popular with the country’s impoverished masses. Observers fear unrest if Tshisekedi orders his supporters to take to the streets. So far, Tshisekedi has called for calm, telling his supporters to await his instructions.

Another opposition candidate, Vital Kamerhe, appealed to Congo’s supreme court to annul the presidential vote, but the court said late on Friday that his complaint was groundless and lacked sufficient evidence. The decision was announced by Justice Jerome Kitoko, the court’s vice president. Read More »

Top court declares Kabila president | ABC News

Dec 172011

Democratic Republic of Congo’s Supreme Court has confirmed Joseph Kabila as the winner of a disputed November 28 presidential election, rejecting demands by the opposition for the vote to be annulled over fraud allegations. The court’s president, Jerome Kitoko, said Mr Kabila had won 48.95 per cent of the vote. ”In consequence, Joseph Kabila is proclaimed president-elect of the republic with a simple majority,” he said at the justice ministry.

The court said the opposition had failed to provide proof of their allegations. Congo’s election commission last Friday declared Mr Kabila winner of the vote which observers said lacked credibility and was marred by irregularities and violence.

The opposition reacted immediately to the court’s decision saying they “totally rejected” the ruling. ”The supreme court is just an instrument of Mr Kabila, just like the electoral commission,” said Alexis Mutanda, campaign president of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi. Read More »

Supreme Court Hears Election Challenge | voanews.com

Dec 162011

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Supreme Court has begun hearing a lawsuit seeking to annul the presidential election that returned incumbent Joseph Kabila to power.

Opposition candidate Vital Kamerhe, who finished third in the vote, filed the lawsuit, in which he claims the poll was rigged in favor of Kabila. Kamerhe, who was present for Thursday’s hearing, said some ballots were pre-marked for the president, and said the electoral commission reported false results.

The official tally from last month’s poll showed Kabila winning 49 percent of vote, well ahead of second-place finisher Etienne Tshisekedi, who had 32 percent. Tshisekedi has rejected the results and proclaimed himself president.

International election observers reported numerous irregularities during both the vote and the counting process. On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said the election was “seriously flawed.” However, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said it was not clear whether the problems were enough to change the outcome of the election. Read More »

UN Mission Urges Review of Issues Raised By Election Observers | allAfrica.com

Dec 152011

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today called on the country’s electoral authorities to review the issues raised by independent observers about the recent DRC presidential and parliamentary polls, saying there were “significant irregularities” in the results process.

The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO) said in a press release that it strongly urged the DRC’s Independent National Electoral Commission (known by its French acronym, CENI) to undertake “a timely and rigorous review” of the issues raised, particularly regarding the counting and tabulation of votes.

It said the review should have “the full participation of witnesses and observers, including foreign observer groups, who may offer to provide technical advice.” MONUSCO’s statement noted that the Carter Center International Election Observation Mission in the DRC and other observer missions had issued statements voicing concern about the management process. Read More »

Election results to be announced | AlJazeera

Dec 102011

The election commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is set to announce the winner of the country’s presidential election. An electoral commission official told Al Jazeera that results would be made public on Friday, a day after the announcement was postponed for a second time.

“There is a lot of confusion regarding why results were delayed on Thursday,” Al Jazeera’s Azad Essa, reporting from Kinshasha, said. ”Official reasons are seen as a glaze over the real internal wrangling over results reportedly taking place within the commission itself.”

The commission has said the delay was due to double-checking of figures against tally sheets from polling stations to avoid mistakes. Kinshasa remained quiet on Friday morning. Roads were relatively empty with most people still at home or in their townships. ”People are frustrated but say they are prepared to wait for the correct results,” Essa said. Read More »

Election sparks violent protests | The Guardian

Dec 102011

President Joseph Kabila was declared the winner of elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday, triggering violent protests and a rival claim to power by his main challenger. Kabila gained 49% of the vote against 32% for veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, the election commission announced.

But Tshisekedi, 78, immediately disputed the result and declared himself president. “I consider these results a real provocation of the Congolese people,” he said on RFI Radio. “As a consequence, I consider myself, from today, the elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

Observers fear such statements could throw a match to the tinderbox of Kinshasa, where there were reports of unrest and gunfire soon after the results were announced. Police fired teargas to break up angry demonstrations, according to witnesses, and plumes of smoke smudged the skyline as tyres were burned outside counting centres. A huge security operation put opposition strongholds in the city under lockdown. Read More »

Election Results Delayed Again | VoA News

Dec 092011

Election officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have again delayed the results of presidential and legislative elections. Opposition supporters are rejecting partial returns that show President Joseph Kabila heading for reelection.

Electoral Commission head Daniel Ngoy-Mulunda says results will be postponed for a third day because officials have not completed comparing vote totals sent electronically with those recorded on tally sheets at each polling station. He said it is a huge job that must be done right to assure the credibility of the totals announced. Results from last month’s presidential and legislative elections were to be announced on Tuesday. That was postponed until Thursday and has now been pushed back to Friday. Read More »

President Nears Election Victory | WSJ.com

Dec 092011

President Joseph Kabila on Thursday was poised to claim victory in an election marred by delays, fraud allegations and violence. With 90% of ballots counted, Mr. Kabila had 48% of the vote, while his closest challenger, opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, had 34%, Congo’s independent election commission said, with full results expected on Friday.

Mr. Tshisekedi, a former prime minister, has rejected partial tallies released this week showing him trailing Mr. Kabila. His defiance has sparked street protests by his supporters in Congo and even European capitals. On Thursday, sporadic clashes between protesters and police broke out in the capital, Kinshasa. Supporters of Mr. Tshisekedi accused police of opening fire in front of the candidate’s home, wounding several people. Attempts to reach Mr. Kabila and the police were unsuccessful.

Despite poor management and fraud allegations by the opposition, the international community has been restrained in its criticism of the vote amid concerns that wider unrest could erupt in the war-ravaged country. Read More »

Violence, deaths over Congo elections force delay of official results | USAfricaonline.com

Dec 082011

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s election commission postponed declaring the winner of last week’s polls amid fears the result could lead to new violence as protests erupted worldwide. The conflict-prone country has been on high alert while it awaits the final results after a campaign that saw deadly police crackdowns on opposition rallies and a series of clashes between rival partisans.

Early tallies showed President Joseph Kabila heading for re-election in the single-round vote, which pitted him against a divided opposition field of 10 candidates. But the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said late on Tuesday it needed more time to compile final results from around the vast central African country, promising a full count within 48 hours.

“We don’t have all the results sheets from the 169 local results compilation centres,” CENI spokesman Matthieu Mpita told AFP. “That’s why we had to postpone the provisional results. To respect the law, we need to have all the results sheets in our possession.” The postponement came after police fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters in Kinshasa. According to results issued late Tuesday, Kabila led main rival Etienne Tshisekedi 49 percent to 33 percent, with 89 percent of polling centres counted. Read More »

DRC on a knife edge as vote result looms | Times LIVE

Dec 052011

There is an uneasy quiet in Kinshasa as the city braces for impending bloodshed. Results of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s second democratic elections, which took place this week, are due to be announced on Tuesday – an announcement likely to spark chaos.

Late yesterday afternoon, presidential candidate Etienne Tshisekedi called a press conference at his residence in Limité, Kinshasa, where he slammed Independent National Electoral Commission president Daniel Ngoy Mulunda, and rejected the preliminary results. He warned Mulunda that “he will be held responsible for what happens in this country”. He told his supporters to be “vigilant” and urged them to “wait until I give the word” before taking action.

Preliminary results released late Friday put incumbent Joseph Kabila ahead of Tshisekedi. With 33% of the vote counted from the country’s 63000 polling stations and released by the election commission, Kabila has 50% of the vote compared to Tshisekedi’s 34%. However, votes from Kinshasa, which is Tshisekedi’s stronghold, have yet to be counted. Read More »

Opposition rejects early presidential vote results | Reuters

Dec 052011

Opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo rejected partial results on Saturday that showed a lead for President Joseph Kabila in a Nov. 28 election, and called on African leaders to act to prevent violence. The vast Central African nation held its second post-war election on Monday and the camps of both Kabila and veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi have said they are sure of victory, setting the stage for further trouble.

In a joint statement signed by major parties, including Tshisekedi’s, the opposition cited irregularities in the way results were being released and said the electoral commission was “psychologically preparing the population for fraud”.

“As a consequence, we reject these partial results and consider them null and void,” said the statement, read by Vital Kamerhe, a former minister who is widely expected to come third in the poll and has committed himself to the opposition camp. Read More »

Election commission says President Joseph Kabila leads in early vote results | The Washington Post

Dec 052011

Congo’s president, seeking a second term in a nation reeling from poverty and pummeled by war, was leading Saturday in early results, but his opponents insisted he step aside and accused him of trying to engineer “carnage.” President Joseph Kabila had 50.3 percent of the vote in early results from an election marred by technical problems and accusations of favoritism. Analysts had predicted he would likely win because the opposition candidates are splitting the vote.

In a show of unity, the 10 opposition parties held a press conference and accused Kabila of attempting to engineer a situation like Kenya, Zimbabwe or the Ivory Coast, all countries where rulers used the army to try to silence dissent and cling to power after losing at the polls.

“I think that Joseph Kabila could go down in history … if he were to say, ‘I’m a good sport and I lost,’” said opposition candidate Vital Kamerhe, a former speaker of Parliament. “He is preparing a carnage.” Read More »

Chaos in DR Congo poll | IOL.co.za

Dec 012011

Voting in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo extended into a third day on Wednesday, after logistical problems prevented many voters from casting their ballots on election day, two days earlier. Some opposition leaders are already calling the elections a sham.

Four presidential candidates said the elections, which had been set to start and finish on Monday, should be cancelled. The official results are expected on December 6, and analysts are warning that violence could erupt unless all participants in the election agree to respect the final outcome.

The African Union and European Union have urged calm, calling on political forces in the country to only use legal means to challenge the results. The US said it was concerned by “anomalies”. Read More »

Vote Extended To Second Day | huffingtonpost.com

Nov 302011

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After an election marred by missing ballots and violence, officials extended voting to a second day Tuesday in an attempt to prevent further unrest in sub-Saharan Africa’s largest nation. Country experts had urged the government to postpone Monday’s presidential and legislative elections, arguing that a delayed vote was better than a botched one.

Congo is in a race against the clock, though, because the five-year term of President Joseph Kabila expires next week, and the country could face more unrest if he is seen as staying past his constitutional mandate. The vote is only the second since the end of Congo’s last war, and the first to be organized by the government instead of the international community. The election was supposed to mark another step toward peace, but if the results are not accepted by the population, especially the country’s fractured opposition, analysts fear it could drag Congo back into conflict. Read More »

Voting extends into 2nd day in Congo | Zimbio

Nov 292011

Voting in Congo was extended into Tuesday after the first day of elections was marred by the late delivery of voting materials, errors on the ballot papers and by pockets of violence. Country experts had urged the government to postpone Monday’s presidential and legislative election, arguing that a delayed election was better than a botched one. Congo is in a race against the clock, though, because the five-year term of President Joseph Kabila expires next week, and the country could face unrest if he is seen as staying past his constitutional mandate.

Anger began to boil over in opposition strongholds in the capital where voters waited since dawn for ballots to be delivered. The spokesman of the election commission, Matthieu Mpita, announced late Monday that the election would be extended into a second day. Read More »

DRC Prepares For Vote Following Violence in Capital | Voice of America

Nov 282011

Voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo are preparing for Monday’s presidential and legislative elections with opposition candidates already claiming fraud following violence in the capital in which at least two people were killed.

Electoral commission vice president Jacques Djoli Eseng’Ekeli says ballots and ballot boxes are being delivered by helicopter to remote polling stations in this country the size of Western Europe. Eseng’Ekeli says there may be some difficulties for some people to find the right place to vote, but he expects that everyone will eventually be able to cast their ballots.

Pessimism grips Congo with elections in disarray | The Independent

Nov 282011

Campaigning in the Democratic Republic of Congo lurches to a riotous and uncertain finish this weekend, with authorities warning that rain could still delay a historic vote in sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest country.

Should it go ahead, Monday’s vote will pit the young incumbent Joseph Kabila – whose father toppled dictator Mobutu Sese Seko – against elder statesman Etienne Tshisekedi, hailed as the “father of Congolese democracy” and standing for president for the first time. Read More »

ECN Teams Head for DRC | allAfrica.com

Nov 182011

Two commissioners and the director of elections have been dispatched to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to observe and monitor the presidential and legislative elections in the vast, resource-rich African country.

Technical support will be provided in the deployment of a technical team made up of IT and logistics officers, and in training programmes for CENI (the DRC’s National Independent Electoral Commission) members and deployment of the observer mission. Read More »

The Electoral Process Seen from the East | International Crisis Group

Sep 052011

The technical preparations for the presidential and legislative elections scheduled on 28 November and the beginning of the electoral campaign in the East of Congo have generated suspicion that risks developing into a crisis of confidence in the whole electoral process.

Congo: The Electoral Process Seen from the East , the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines voter registration and the beginning of the campaign on the ground in the Kivu provinces and the Ituri district and highlights the electoral stakes in a region that remains fundamental for durable stability in the country.

“The militiamen of the armed groups have not disturbed the voter registration process because they also need the voters’ card which serves as an ID document in the Democratic Republic of Congo”, says Marc-André Lagrange, Crisis Group’s Senior Congo Analyst. “However, the surprisingly sharp increase in the electorate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced, lack of dialogue with the political parties and lack of verification by the voters themselves feed latent but widespread suspicions in the opposition and civil society”. Read More »

Clashes in DR Congo over 'voter fraud' | Al Jazeera

Sep 032011

Police in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have fired tear gas to disperse several hundred opposition supporters who accuse the electoral commission of fraud in the run up to elections later this year.

The protest is the latest sign of growing tension in Congo before presidential and parliamentary polls in November, the second set of elections since the last war ended in 2003. The demonstrators accuse President Joseph Kabila’s party of rigging polls in his favour by allowing for the multiple registrations of voters ahead of the elections.

Police fire tear gas at opposition protesters | BBC News

Sep 022011

Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo have fired tear gas at opposition protesters accusing the electoral commission of fraud. Hundreds of protesters were stopped as they approached the commission’s headquarters in the capital, Kinshasa.

Opposition candidate Jacquemain Shabani is due to stand against President Joseph Kabila in November polls. His Union for Democracy and Social Progress claims some voter registration has been fraudulent. Mr Shabani has called for an audit of the electoral register. Read More »

Democratic Republic of Congo gears up for general elections | Newsday

Aug 152011

More than 31 million voters have registered for the forthcoming general election scheduled for November in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This represents a significant increase compared to about 25,6 million that registered for the last election held in 2006.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (Ceni) has said it is happy with the way the electoral process is progressing, adding that the response from voters had been overwhelming. “It is more than we expected,” Ceni chairperson Daniel Ngoy Mulunda said at a Press conference following the completion of the first phase of the updating of the electoral roll. He said overwhelming response is a positive sign that people are willing to participate in national development. Read More »

Democratic Republic of Congo election protests turn violent | Reuters

Jul 052011

Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo used tear gas on Monday to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters protesting outside the electoral commission against alleged irregularities in voter registration.

The clashes, confirmed by demonstrators and the police, were the first signs of tension in the capital Kinshasa as the vast central African country geared up for its second post-war poll. Read More »

Electoral Chief Hails DRC Voter Registration Drive | VOAnews

Jun 022011

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission [CENI] in the Democratic Republic of Congo says he is pleased with his organization’s performance in the run up to the November 28 general elections.

Reverend Daniel Ngoy Mulunda hailed what he described as the “enormous enthusiasm” among Congolese citizens registering to vote, despite the security challenges in some parts of the country. Read More »

Congo: The Electoral Dilemma | International Crisis Group

May 052011

After four years of electoral inertia and in a stalled democratic process, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is preparing its second set of democratic elections in a hurry and on a rolling calendar. Opposition parties are trying to unite, thus far without success, and the international community is not in charge, as in effect it was the first time, in 2006.

The Congolese authorities face a dilemma: respect the constitutional deadline and organise botched elections, or ignore that deadline and slide into a situation of unconstitutional power. In both cases, the government’s legitimacy would be seriously questioned. The only way out of this Catch-22 situation is to both speed up preparations and negotiate a contingency electoral calendar and political agreement to manage an almost certainly necessary transition period. Read More »

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