The Presidential Election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (8/17/06)

With bad news coming in daily from all over the globe - the Middle East, east and south Asia, eastern, western, and southern Africa - it is surprising to find a possible bright spot in, of all places, central Africa! In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire, it appears that the bloodiest conflict the world has seen since the Second World War, with over four million killed since 1998, has truly come to an end. Much of the fighting ended with the formation of a power-sharing transitional government late in 2003. At the end of last year, a nationwide referendum endorsed a new constitution for the country. And on July 30, voters went to the polls for the first truly free elections since the country gained its independence in 1960, choosing a President and 500 members of the National Assembly. Turnout was over 80%. There was violence, and there were irregularities, but less than expected. Final results will not be known for certain until at least the end of this month, but it appears that the two leading vote getters were the current President, Joseph Kabila, and current Vice-President and former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba. If a runoff is necessary, and it appears likely that it will be, it will be held in October.

What is likely to happen? What is the significance of these events? That will be the subject of this Thursday's IIF discussion. Jacobus Boers will serve as our moderator.

As usual, I am sending along some background information:

From The Economist, here are a Backgrounder and a series of articles beginning about the time of the end of the conflict in the DRC:

Backgrounder: Democratic Republic of Congo

Is Africa's greatest war over?

Democracy postponed

Congo’s constitutional referendum

The hopeful continent

A giant leap forward

A tantalising wait for the vote

Hold your breath for the big one

Election fever

Mending Africa's broken heart

A long wait for democracy

After the poll

Here are two reports on the elections that aired on The NewsHour on PBS:

Democratic Republic of Congo Prepares for First Free Elections

Hope, Fear Mark Congo's First Democratic Elections in 46 Years

Here are two items about the election from The Wall Street Journal:

Commentary: Congo Votes

Chaotic and Slow Vote Counting In Congo Raises Tampering Risk

The Carter Center sent an international delegation to observe the election. Here is their preliminary report:

Preliminary Statement of The Carter Center on the Democratic Republic of Congo July 30, 2006, Elections

From the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia, here are a general article on the DRC, and an article on the election:

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo general election, 2006

Here are two items from the Council on Foreign Relations:

Backgrounder: Congo's Elections

Daily Analysis: For Now, Relief in Congo

And two from the International Crisis Group:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Conflict History: DR Congo

Finally, here are a few news items that have appeared in various newspapers in the couple of weeks since the election:

Kabila wins key east city in Congo vote

UN: Too Early to Declare Winner Despite Early DRC Election Results

After Congo Vote, Most Are Hoping for a Round 2

Vote Count Continues in Congo Election