Credit:Ben Cahoon (FOTW Flags Of The World website at flagspot.net)

Election Date: October 29, 2006

At Stake: President, National Assembly

Background

First visited by the Portuguese in the 1480's and a centre for British, Dutch, Portuguese and French slave traders in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) became a Belgian colony in the late 1880's and continued as such until 1960. Belgian colonization was marked by the strong arm of King Leopold II, who took the area as his personal fiefdom. Millions of Congolese died from exploitation and slavery in his quest for rubber and ivory.

Independence in 1960 came at a price, with the attempted secession of the Katanga province—an area rich in mineral resources—and an army mutiny. Indeed the following years saw increasing violence, including the assassination of prime minister Patrice Lumumba and the military coup led by Joseph Mobutu.

Mobutu, who changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko and the country's name to Zaire, established a despotic 37-year dictatorship. During this time, the nation was courted by the United States due to its opposition to Soviet-backed Angola, became renowned for corruption and defaulted on loans from Belgium, causing the cancellation of development programs. Mobutu was known for building luxurious palaces, while the country around him slipped further and further into poverty.

In 1997, the escalating civil conflict in Rwanda spilled into Zaire, with the Rwandan military crossing the frontier to flush out militant Hutus, capturing in the process much of the east of the country. The increased instability gave rise to anti-Mobutu forces that, with Rwandan support, captured the capital Kinshasa and installed Laurent Kabila as president.

The country was renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo. The toppling of the Mobutu regime did little to bring stability, and within a year, Rwandan and Ugandan rebels rose against Kabila. With support for the DRC government coming from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, the conflict escalated and involved six countries.

The war claimed some 2.5 million lives and was prolonged, according to a United Nations (UN) panel, to plunder the country's vast diamond, gold and timber resources. A peace accord was signed in July 1999. Stability proved difficult to maintain, despite the presence of 5,000 UN troops committed to the region.

In January 2001, Kabila was assassinated. His son Joseph took over as president, signing two separate peace accords over the next two years. In 2003, an interim government, headed by Kabila and including the leaders of former rebel groups, was sworn in with the promise of new elections.

In May 2005, a new constitution was finalized by the interim government and then ratified in a nationwide referendum held in December. More than 15 million people cast a ballot for the first time in their lives.

The new body of law lowers the minimum age for presidential candidates from 35 to 30 years—allowing a bid by Joseph Kabila. The document also attempts to ensure female participation at all levels of government, and decentralizes authority, dividing the nation into 26 semi-autonomous provinces. The president must also name the DRC's prime minister from the largest party in the National Assembly.

Despite this milestone, the conflict has again arisen between government forces and Congolese of Rwandan origin in the country's unsettled east, and also in the mineral rich province of Katanga. This increasing strife has cast doubts on the possibility of an entirely peaceful and calm election.

2006 Presidential and National Assembly Elections

On Feb. 7, Kabila secured the presidential nomination of the governing People for Reconstruction and Democracy Party (PRDP). Other contenders include former rebel leaders Azarias Ruberwa of the former Rwandan-supported Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) and John Pierre Bemba of the former Ugandan-backed Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC). Both Ruberwa and Bemba served as vice-presidents in the interim administration.

On Feb. 19, the constitution was formally adopted, along with a new national flag. Three days later, the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) established Jun. 18 as the provisional date for the presidential election. More than 25 million voters have registered to vote.

The DRC's main opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), has urged for the reopening of the voter register. UDPS leader and presidential candidate Etienne Tshisekedi called for a boycott of the constitutional referendum, and claims many of his supporters are not on the list.

On Mar. 10, the police used tear gas and batons to disperse Tshisekedi supporters in Kinshasa, who were attempting to register for the election. UN spokesman Kemal Saiki criticized the government's actions, saying, "On first account there seems to have been a disproportionate use of force, and if this is the case, we strongly condemn it. The people have a constitutional right to express their opinion and demonstrate."

On Mar. 21 during a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan declared, "We are now at a critical stage and come June we will be organizing elections in a huge country with little infrastructure. This poses major logistical challenges, if not nightmares."

On Mar. 22, thousands of Tshisekedi supporters marched through Kinshasa to voice their electoral demands. UDPS committee member Francois Beltchika declared, "The aim of the march is to show the national and the international community the need for inclusiveness if there is going to be peace and change."

By late March, 10 candidates had been registered for the presidential election, including Kabila, Bemba, former Kinshasa governor Catherine Nzuzi wa Mbombo, and former finance minister Pierre Pay Pay.

On Mar. 24, the deadline to register candidates for the election was extended for 10 days.

On Apr. 3, assistant U.S. state secretary for African affairs Jendayi Frazer dismissed speculations that Washington would back any of the contenders, declaring, "The United States supports no candidate. We support the electoral process. The U.S. and the international community support only the Congolese people's choice of their own leaders."

On Apr. 4, the UDPS announced it was boycotting the presidential election.

On Apr. 7, the CEI announced that 33 candidates had been cleared to run in the presidential election, and 40 applicants had been rejected. On that same day, a coalition of 21 opposition parties and groups called the Democratic Front for an Independent Electoral Commission (FDCEI) released a statement calling for a body "that includes both the opposition and the government."

On May 1, the CEI issued a statement, announcing that the election would be postponed until Jul. 30. CEI president Apollinaire Malu Malu called on political figures to carry on a "permanent dialogue" and said there was an "enormous job" to be done in order to create all the necessary voting cards.

On Jun. 30, campaign activities officially began. At least 13 people, including one soldier, were killed in election-related violence.

On Jul. 5, 19 of the 33 presidential candidates called for a suspension of campaign activities, claiming the decision to print 5 million excess ballots has "undermined the credibility" of the process.

On Jul. 19, representatives from non-governmental organizations called on the international community to continue supporting the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the presidential ballot. A statement from Oxfam International read: "It's vital that after the election the international community doesn't just cut and run, leaving the job half done."

Voting took place on Jul. 30. UN peacekeepers guarded the 50,000 polling stations, and 1,200 election observers were present. Early reports indicated a large turnout in the eastern provinces of the country. Election officials said a violent incident took place in East Kasai, where a polling station was burned and voters were threatened.

RCD presidential candidate Ruberwa complained about irregularities, saying, "I will recognize the results if they are transparent."

On Jul. 31, voters in the south central towns of Mbuji Mayi and Mweka exercised their right, after violence prevented them from participating on the original election day. Bemba said initial results gave him the lead, although the CEI had urged candidates not to make any statements before all the votes were tallied.

On Aug. 1, Ruberwa demanded a rerun of the election in some areas, citing "irregularities so significant that they distort the results of the vote across the national territory."

Final results were released on Aug. 20. Joseph Kabila finished in first place with 44.81 per cent, followed by Jean-Pierre Bemba with 20.03 per cent. Since no candidate garnered more than 50 per cent of all cast ballots, a run-off will take place on Oct. 29.

On Aug. 21, UN secretary-general Annan issued a statement, describing the elections as "vital step in the long process of peace consolidation" and urging parties and candidates to "abide by the electoral law in the resolution of any disputes related to the electoral process."

Turnout for the first round and the parliamentary election was tabled at 70 per cent.

On Aug. 30, senior representatives from the two presidential candidates met in Kinshasa, and decided to create two sub-commissions. One will review the incidents of Aug. 20 to 22—when 23 people died in violent clashes—and the second will define rules of conduct for the run-off campaign.

On Sept. 13, Kabila and Bemba met for the first time since August's violent clashes. The two rivals discussed specific measures to restore confidence and guarantee the respect of human rights during the campaign.

On Sept. 15, the Supreme Court endorsed the results of the presidential election and confirmed the date for the second round.

Second round voting took place on Oct. 29. One person died during clashes, and two polling stations workers were shot and killed.

Partial results released on Nov. 10 gave Kabila 60.67 per cent of the vote, and Bemba 39.33 per cent. Only 65 per cent of all cast ballots had been tallied. The CEI said these numbers cannot be used to make "any trend projection" of the definite outcome. Bemba's camp has complained about "systematic errors" and a "policy of cheating" in the compilation of results.

Final results were released on Nov. 16. Kabila received 58.05 percent of the vote, while Bemba finished second with 41.95 per cent. Bemba rejected the numbers, declaring, "I regret to have to say to our people and the international community that I cannot accept these results which are far from reflecting the truth of the ballot box. I promise to use all legal means to ensure the will of our people is respected."

On Nov. 27, the Supreme Court certified Kabila as the winner of the presidential election. Bemba accepted defeat, and vowed to take part in a "strong republican opposition in the interests of the nation."

On Dec. 6, Kabila was sworn in for a five-year term

Political Players

President: Joseph Kabila

The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The National Assembly has 500 members, and an appointed Senate has 120 members.

Results of Last Election:

President - Jul. 30 and Oct. 29, 2006

National Assembly - Jul. 30, 2006

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