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DR Congo set to unveil candidates for troubled elections
KINSHASA, Sept 19, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The marathon road towards elections in
Democratic Republic of Congo reaches a critical point Wednesday with the
publication of officially-vetted candidates for the December 23 poll in which
two heavyweight contenders have been sidelined.
More than two dozen people registered their bid with the Independent
National Electoral Commission (CENI), a much-contested panel tasked with
overseeing the ballot in one of the Africa’s biggest and most unstable
nations.
It is expected to give the green light to opposition figures Felix
Tshisekedi and Vital Kamerhe, as well as to Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, a
hardline former interior minister backed by President Joseph Kabila.
But the list is also set to confirm the exclusion of former warlord Jean-
Pierre Bemba and regional baron Moise Katumbi — a move that raised howls of
protest from their powerful blocs of supporters.
Bemba lashed what he calls a “parody of an election.”
He accused Kabila — whom critics characterise as corrupt and manipulative
— of pulling strings “to ensure that the government’s candidate does not
have a serious challenger.”
The DRC, previously known as Zaire, has never had a peaceful transition of
power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.
Most of its citizens are deeply poor despite the DRC’s wealth of gold,
diamonds, copper, cobalt, uranium and oil. Bloody conflicts trouble the vast
country’s east and centre.
Kabila, 47, has been in power since 2001. His second and final term in
office ended nearly two years ago, but he kept in power thanks to a caretaker
clause in the constitution.
Months of feverish speculation about Kabila’s plans, marked by protests
that were bloodily repressed, ended in August when he threw his weight behind
Shadary.
MORE/SSS/1646 hrs
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Voting day on December 23 will take place for the presidency, legislature
and provincial bodies, throwing down a huge logistical and technical
challenge to CENI in a country where infrastructure is poor.
– Opposition dilemma –
The big challenge for the fragmented opposition is to unite behind a
credible candidate after the loss of the people-pulling power of Bemba and
Katumbi.
It will stage a rally in Kinshasa on September 29 on the heels of talks in
Brussels and a meeting in Johannesburg with South Africa’s ruling African
National Congress (ANC) party.
In the absence of a single champion, boycotting the election, citing for
example security concerns over electronic voting machines, may loom as an
opposition strategy, say analysts.
Last week, Tshisekedi, Kamerhe, Bemba and Katumbi joined with two fellow
opposition leaders to warn CENI and Kabila’s government to ensure fair
elections or else “be held responsible for the chaos and consequences.”
Bemba, 55, a former rebel and ex-vice president, declared his candidacy
when he made a triumphant return home from Belgium after the International
Criminal Court in The Hague acquitted him of war crimes charges.
But he was excluded by CENI, in a decision upheld by the Constitutional
Court, on the grounds that the ICC had convicted him separately on charges of
tampering with witnesses at his war-crimes trial.
That conviction and a one-year sentence were upheld by the ICC on Monday
along with a 300,000-euro ($350,000) fine.
Katumbi, 53, a former Kabila ally and ex-governor of the mineral-rich
province of Katanga, says he was blocked at the Zambian border to prevent him
from returning to the country to file his candidacy. He has lived in exile
since 2016.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1647 hrs