CONTENTS:

EDITORIAL

1. ELECTORAL PROCESS

– Actions of the INEC
– Beginning of the electoral campaign in a tense climate
– The UDPS begins its electoral campaign in a rather strange way
– Civil Society speaks out
– The International Community responds

EDITORIAL

The electoral campaign leading up to the presidential and parliamentary elections on the 28th of November is unfolding in a very worrying climate, which the archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, has already denounced during a press briefing on the 10th of November, where he condemned and stigmatised the acts which border on the barbaric.

“We are witnessing incidents every day, the frequency and repetition of which is astonishing: there are provocations, people armed with machetes, sometimes with guns, there is destruction and burning, as though we are surrounded by enemies ranked in battle formation, as though the aim of the elections were to destroy the country rather than to build it, as though the elections were aiming to kill rather than to protect and promote life,” he highlighted, specifying that the general climate of the country and the capital “is characterised by a resurgence of fear and agitation, uncertainty and panic.”

As the archbishop explained, it is all happening as though these acts were premeditated and planned, or indeed as though people are afraid of defeat, and are resorting to violence to hide their own inadequacies. Even if they are victorious, people don’t know how to handle the victory, as though they weren’t prepared for it. Who knows how they can keep their campaign promises in order to meet the concerns of the Congolese people. Chaos would be the best way out, thus betraying the Congolese people.

The questions raised by the Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo are also pertinent: “How can we have confidence in leaders who are incapable of protecting the population? How can we elect governors who do not give us any guarantee of peace, justice, truth or love of the people?”

The Catholic archbishop is certainly worried, but he has faith in the elections. He insists that this process must go to full term. He condemns the hindrances facing the candidates for both the presidential and parliamentary elections and he calls for the government to allow the same opportunities for all candidates in the higher interests of the nation and in respect of the opposition, in order for the elections to be credible. He calls for common sense, caution, restraint and democratic spirit to be shown by one and all.

The politicians must know that the Congolese people want to go to the elections in an atmosphere of calm, tolerance, and respect for people and their property, which is the only route that can lead to a “Republic of values and not one of anti-values”.

1. ELECTORAL PROCESS

Actions of the INEC

On the 19th of October, despite the delays encountered and the various logistic difficulties, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), pastor Daniel Ngoy Mulunda, firmly denounced the rumour that the national elections could be separated from the presidential elections or postponed and confirmed that the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 28 November, as planned, and that the electoral campaign will be launched on the 28th of October. The chairman of the INEC also announced that the printing of ballot papers for the two rounds of voting has begun in South Africa. Putting an end to the controversy surrounding the audit of the central server of the INEC, he confirmed that, during these elections, they will not be using the central server; the counting of votes will be done manually and will be carried out before witnesses from the various political parties and observers. Nor will the compilation of the election results be computerised, the pastor specified: “At the administrative level, the INEC will not centralise [the election results]. We will simply add up the eleven parcels [from the eleven provinces].”

On the 22nd of October, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) and the INEC reached an agreement on the auditing of the electoral register. Consequently, the secretary general of the UDPS, Jacquemin Shabani, said that his party would sign the code of conduct for peaceful elections on Thursday the 27th of October.

On the 25th of October, delegates of the Presidential Majority and those of the political opposition met under the supervision of the Deputy Chairman of the INEC, Professor Jacques Djoli, in order to reach a consensus on the auditing of the electoral register.

He suggested that the presidential election on the 28th of November should go ahead and the results be announced on the 6th of December, as these two dates are constitutional and non-negotiable, but he would be willing for the parliamentary elections to be held at a later date. The leader of the UDPS, also a candidate for the presidential election in 2011, justified this option by citing logistical difficulties that the INEC are currently having in preparing for the double election (delays in the manufacturing of ballot boxes, the printing of ballot papers, transportation of materials to the polling stations, publication of the location of polling stations, posting of the lists of voters). We can perhaps see a new electoral strategy behind this statement by the UDPS. With six opposition candidates and one presidential candidate, who has only served one term, the incumbent Joseph Kabila could easily be re-elected as head of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the 28th of November. The Congolese opposition has not succeeded in agreeing on one single candidate to oppose the outgoing president. Etienne Tshisekedi’s party hope to have a chance of gaining seats in parliament, where it will then be easier to forge alliances with other opposition leaders in the National Assembly. Joseph Kabila could then find himself in a coalition … without a firm majority in the Chamber.

On the 27th of October, stating that the INEC was ready on both the technical and logistic front to organise the two rounds of voting, pastor Ngoy Mulunda declared the electoral campaign for the presidential and parliamentary elections open on the 28th of November 2011. He also urged the parties, coalitions and independent candidates to prepare witnesses to be distributed amongst the polling stations.

On the 29th of October, the INEC in Lubumbashi received the first batch of 12,000 ballot boxes from China. Furthermore, the INEC announced that they would begin posting lists of registered voters in the polling stations across the country.

On the 30th of October, Jacquemin Shabani, secretary general of the UDPS, announced that his party will sign the code of conduct on the 3rd of November. The UDPS had made the signing of the code of conduct conditional upon the release of its activists who were arrested and detained in Kinshasa’s penitentiary and re-education centre (CPRK).

On the 31st of October, in Kinshasa, the INEC began to publish lists of polling stations.

Ngoy Mulunda announced that, after the monitoring mission, it has been necessary to increase the number of polling stations to reduce the vast distances between the voters and their nearest polling station. In fact, for a total of 32,024,640 voters in the whole of the country, the INEC has created 11,611 voting locations, 16,948 voting centres and 63,865 polling stations. Ngoy Mulunda invited the public to go and find their polling stations “to make things easy on voting day”.

The number of polling stations by province is as follows: Kinshasa: 10 334, Katanga: 8 441, Eastern Province: 7 431, Equateur: 7 364, Bandundu: 6 958, North-Kivu: 5 394, East Kasaï: 5 130, West Kasaï: 4 659, South-Kivu: 3 707, Bas-Congo: 2 778, Maniema: 1 669. The INEC has also begun displaying lists of registered voters in the polling stations in Kinshasa.

On the 1st of November, pastor Ngoy Mulunda stated that logistics will not pose any further difficulties and that “everything will be ready by the 25th of November at the latest.”

The printing of ballot papers for the presidential election is complete. For the parliamentary elections, the papers are still in the process of being printed. The largest of these is 56 pages long, which is for the four electoral districts of Kinshasa, each of which has more than a thousand candidates. Taking into account the amount of work to be done, the printing of ballot papers for the two elections is being undertaken by five printing companies based in three cities in South Africa: Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. The transportation of these sensitive documents from South Africa to the provinces will be overseen by the South African government, which has signed a service agreement to this effect with the Chairman of the INEC.

Regarding the results of the upcoming elections, the president of the INEC has made it clear that, since the counting of votes will be done by hand, there is no longer a single processing centre, but rather local centres will compile the results. The polling stations will be transformed into processing centres. So as to avoid fraud, the process will be witnessed by the polling station officers, witnesses from the political parties and observers. Following local approval, the results will be sent to Kinshasa for certification.

The Chairman of the INEC has finally asked the political parties to submit their lists of witnesses seven days before the elections, which is to say by the 21st of November, in order for them to be authorised and given badges. Equally, he has invited them to appoint two witnesses per polling station. If we recall that the INEC has set out 63,865 polling stations and 16,948 election centres, there will need to be at least 161,626 witnesses. In Kinshasa, the INEC has received a second batch of 24,000 ballot boxes, manufactured in six factories in China.

On the 1st of November, representatives of certain political parties expressed to the INEC their concerns about certain errors noted on the sample ballot papers. One candidate for the National Assembly, for example, pointed out that his name was printed on the list against the logo of a different political party.

Vice-presidential candidates in the electoral district of Mbuji-Mayi have complained about changes to the order numbers on the definitive INEC list. This late change, occurring 3 days after the INEC officially launched the electoral campaign, has forced them to re-print their posters and banners, which means spending more money. “Up until the last minute, I was on page 22, with position number 575, and that was the definitive list according to the INEC before the launch of the electoral campaign. To my great surprise, there was a numbering change. My position number is no longer 575; it’s now 580, so there’s more work to be done. Now, I have to re-print all of my posters and banners,” complained Sylvain Mitshabu, vice-presidential candidate of the ULDC (Union of Christian Liberal Democrats), who pointed out that the total number of candidates in Mbuji-Mayi, provincial capital of Kasai-Oriental, has risen from 646 to 651.

On the 2nd of November, the spokesman for Monusco, Madnodje Mounoubai, announced that the UN mission has made its 84 aeroplanes and helicopters available for the use of the INEC to transport the ballot boxes and ballot papers. According to Madnodje Mounoubai, this aid is part of the Monusco mandate. “The 1991 agreement requires Monusco to provide logistical and technical support for the electoral process” he explained, adding that, as and when the election materials arrive, the mission will take care of the distribution to the provincial capitals and throughout the districts.

On the 4th of November, the INEC called on the Presidential Majority (MP) to remove their propaganda posters for Joseph Kabila, the presidential election candidate, from the Martyr’s stadium, which is a public building. Equally, they cautioned all those political parties who are arming youths against those who are carrying out their electoral campaign and all state public services which are hindering the electoral candidates’ campaigns.

The Deputy Chairman of the INEC, Jacques Djoli called for everyone to respect the code of conduct and electoral law, avoiding tactics which aim to weaken other candidates’ campaigns, in particular anything that restricts freedom of movement, for instance restricting their right to travel by taking all of the rental planes or preventing the sale of fuel.

Without strict enforcement of the electoral law and all the rules governing the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there will be an increase in violence, and some will feel that they have been ‘sacrificed’ in favour of the ‘men in power’. As long as the banners of the ‘power candidates’ are allowed to remain posted on public buildings without any legal sanction, whilst those of the ‘opposition candidates’ are banned from being posted in public spaces, such as Rond-Point Victoire, concerns will persist.

On the 4th of November, Matthieu Mpita, reporter for the INEC, announced that requests for accreditation of electoral witnesses, national and international observers and journalists are to be submitted to the INEC 15 days before the elections. In line with the conditions of electoral law, Matthieu Mpita has called for the various participants to prepare their lists accordingly. He further pointed out that the accreditation of witnesses would be made on a national, provincial and local level by the INEC. Moreover, Matthieu Mpita presented some statistics about the deployment of electoral materials already underway in the country. He stated that “more than 95% of the kits for polling and processing centres (BVDs), and more than 93% of the kits for the local compilation centres (CLCRs) have already been sent out, along with more than 96% of the indelible ink and more than 90% of the isolation booths.

On the 9th of November, the INEC insisted and indicated that: The elections will take place according to plan on the 28th of November. “There are no hidden dates” insisted professor Jacques Djoli, Deputy Chairman of the INEC, brushing aside all rumours about the elections going on for two or three days. The polling stations will be open at 6am and closed at 5pm on the 28th of November. Nevertheless, if at 5pm there are still people in line, the polling station officer will take all necessary steps to ensure that they can vote, starting by taking the polling card of the last person in the queue. Jacques Djoli also assured that the deployment of election materials must end 48 hours before the polling stations open, ie. on the 25th of November at the latest.

Beginning of the electoral campaign in a tense climate

On the afternoon of the 28th of October, activists from 2 rival factions of the UDPS clashed in a stone throwing incident at their party headquarters in the district of Makiso in Kisangani. This clash left one dead and 28 injured. The police intervened to restore order. Each of the two rival groups, led by Sylvain Lioole and Ramazani Mwenyewe respectively, claims the federal presidency of Etienne Tshisekedi’s party in the city of Kisangani.

On the 28th of October, UDPS activists were dispersed by police as they launched their party’s electoral campaign in Mbuji-Mayi (in East Kasai), at the Star roundabout in the Dibindi district. Several people were arrested. In the Muya district other UDPS activists confronted members of the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD). According to witnesses, one child was killed and three people injured by police gunfire. Late the previous evening, following confrontations between opposition fighters and the main party, the Provincial Security Council banned the UDPS from organising public protests for the duration of the electoral campaign.

On the 29th of October, members of the Presidential Majority (MP) and those of the opposition clashed in Mbuji-Mayi. The incident caused material damages for both parties. Violence broke out early in the morning in the Simis area of the city, which is the stronghold of the UDPS. The activists claimed to have been provoked by the provincial governor’s motorcade, as he was campaigning in this part of the city. According to witnesses, the governor’s official jeep was seriously damaged, the residence of one of the governor’s bodyguards was ransacked and that of the president of the ACDD, a political party allied to the leadership was damaged by members of Etienne Tshisekedi’s opposition party. In retaliation, the activists from the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), which supports Joseph Kabila, attacked the residence of one of the UDPS’s vice-presidential candidates, which is situated right next to the headquarters of the Central Bank of Congo (BCC). All of the party’s insignia were torn down and set alight on the spot. The police devastated the UDPS party offices in the district of Simis.

The election candidates are displaying their posters anywhere and everywhere: on the walls and gates of private and state schools, hospitals, private housing and public buildings. The Deputy Chairman of the INEC, Jacques Ndjoli, reminded everyone that it is illegal to post electoral banners on public buildings. He called for electoral candidates to place their posters “in the proposed locations and not in public areas”. He also called for candidates to obtain prior authorisation from building owners before posting on their fences. During the electoral campaign in Bukavu, in South-Kivu province, banners, photos, posters and other campaign materials were torn up. The parties are accusing one another of intolerance. The acting provincial secretary of the INEC, Albert Rubuye, condemned this behaviour and called for mutual tolerance from all candidates and for all parties and political groups to abide by the code of conduct for peaceful elections.

On the 4th of November, Fabrice Muupfiritsa, a popular musician, was kidnapped in Goma by unidentified armed persons. Those close to him accused the republican guard of being responsible. Closely linked to the UNC, Vital Kamerhe’s Union for the Congolese Nation party, Fabrice Muupfiritsa apparently refused to sing for President Kabila who, like other candidates, is running his electoral campaign. This rumour has been disputed by the provincial governor, Julien Paluku. This disappearance sparked anger among youths. They set up barricades and roadblocks in the main commercial street in Goma and burnt tyres; the police intervened to disperse the crowds in the early evening. Fabrice Muupfiritsa was found, alive but bound and blindfolded, around 2am on the 7th of November out in the bush near Goma.

On the morning of the 5th of November, activists from a small party allied to the Presidential Majority, the Union of Congolese Nationalists and Federalists (UNAFEC), led by Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza, president of the Katanga provincial government along with activists from the UDPS clashed in Lubumbashi as Etienne Tshisekedi’s party launched their electoral campaign in the city. Witnesses declared several people injured and severe material damages.

The UDPS cavalcade was attacked in front of the UNAFEC headquarters in the Kenya district. Activists from the two parties confronted each other with knives, machetes and clubs. The leaders of the UDPS announced that one party member had been killed and three of their vehicles had been burnt. The leaders of UNAFEC announced that the UDPS activists had devastated their party offices. The police intervened to restore the peace. The previous day, activists from the two parties clashed as UNAFEC launched their campaign.

After these clashes, the governor of Katanga, Moïse Katumbi, called for tolerance from party members on both sides and requested that the leaders of these two political groups raise awareness among their members to avoid uprisings during the electoral campaign. “Everyone is free to fight their campaign in any part of the city, so long as calm reigns” he stated, adding that “In politics, the unity of the country is key. It is normal for people to be angry, but we have to seek compromise.” The NGO Human Rights Watch recently revealed that Kyungu has “frequently used aggressive and provocative language” over the past few months when referring to people from the neighbouring province of East Kasai, home of the UDPS leader and presidential candidate, Etienne Tshisekedi.

On the 7th of November, in Lubumbashi, according to witnesses, opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi’s UDPS activists tore up an effigy of the federal president of the PPRD of Haut-Katanga, Louis Ntole, who is a candidate for the vice-presidency. Afterwards, they attacked the headquarters of this party, who support the incumbent Joseph Kabila’s campaign for the presidency. Vehicles passing through Mzee Kabila road were also targeted. Arriving at the scene, the police arrested three suspected trouble-makers, identified as being UDPS activists.

On the 7th of November, members of the Alliance of Congo Democratic Forces (AFDC), led by Bahati Lukwebo, and those of the New Alliance of Democrats (NAD), led by Athanase Matenda Kyelu were involved in fighting in Kalima, in Maniema province. Two were injured as a result.

The incident occurred during simultaneous marches organised by the two parties which belong to the Presidential Majority. According to witnesses, one member of the NAD broke ranks to attack members of the AFDC. A fight broke out, followed by stone throwing.

In South Kivu, one young sympathiser* of the opposition presidential candidate Vital Kamerhe was attacked by a group of individuals, identified by witnesses as members of Joseph Kabila’s party. The incident occurred during the night of Tuesday the 8th of November on Avenue Hippodrome, in the distict of Ibanda in Bukavu.

In Fizi, around 250km south of Bukavu, members of Jean-Marie Bulambo’s PANADER party claimed to feel threatened in the city of Baraka. One of the party leaders is said to have asked police to open an enquiry into the tearing up of his candidate’s posters.

The cabinet office of the candidate Jemsi Mulengwa of the PANADER party was invaded by strangers during the night of Monday the 6th of November. The burglars took everything: posters, electrical generator, video cameras and CDs for use in the electoral campaign.

In Bunyakiri, in the north-west of the province, local leaders accused militants of the FARDC (The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) of campaigning in favour of the candidate Joseph Kabila. They claimed that the militants were going around the villages, calling for the inhabitants to vote for Joseph Kabila in the November presidential elections if they do not want war to break out and for there to be more bloodshed in the region.

The UDPS begins its electoral campaign in a rather strange way

On the 2nd of November, the UDPS accused the Congolese civil aviation authority of refusing their candidate, Etienne Tshisekedi’s plane landing permission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr Tshisekedi, who was due to arrive in Kisangani (in the north-east) to begin a series of visits in the east of DR Congo, found himself in Johannesburg, in South Africa, where he ended his foreign tour. According to the UDPS, there has been political interference in matters concerning his authorisation to fly in Congolese airspace and the use of airports and airfields. “We hired aeroplanes (one helicopter, one jet and one DC3) from a South African company which has always had permission to land in DR Congo. We do not understand why the civil aviation services refused landing permission on this occasion,”, said Jacquemin Shabani, secretary general of the UDPS, who has accused the incumbent head of state and presidential candidate, Joseph Kabila, of being responsible for this incident in order to “discourage his opponents”. Effectively, the UDPS was accusing those in power of obstructing the opposition’s electoral campaign.

On the 3rd of November, the civil aviation authority in Kinshasa denied refusing landing permission to Etienne Tshisekedi’s plane. “The Congolese civil aviation authority received no request for landing or take-off from any aviation company working for the UDPS,” said the director of the Congolese civil aviation authority (AAC), Richard Nyangwile. “When the company [UDPS’s partner] say that the request was denied, can they prove that the request was received by the civil aviation authority at that it was indeed refused?” he asked, adding: “The UDPS did not figure in the request (for landing permission). I maintain that no requests for flight, import or landing were presented by the UDPS.”

In answer to the question of whether the UDPS possess documents proving that a request for permission to fly over was submitted to the civil aviation authority, Jacquemin Shabani said, “We are contacting the aviation company with whom we signed the contract. They are the ones in contact with the civil aviation authority, not the UDPS or Etienne Tshisekedi. We are awaiting the society’s response.”

Lambert Mendé, government spokesman, accused the UDPS of looking for a loophole to “cover up their logistical problems”.

The UDPS has, as expected, refused to sign the code of conduct, demanding authorisation for aeroplanes hired for Etienne Tshisekedi’s campaign to fly in Congolese airspace, liberation of their activists, arrested during recent protests, and the removal of Joseph Kabila’s posters from public buildings, which violate electoral law.

On the 6th of November, from his location in South Africa, Etienne Tshisekedi put an end to the controversy over his return to the DR Congo. He stated that nothing had prevented him from leaving South Africa to return to his country, that “he was simply in the process of finalising his preparations for the campaign and that his party had reacted on false information and nonsense” adding that “there was never any attempt to stop my plane, so I have no objections.”

On the evening of the 6th of November, in a telephone interview on Radio Lisanga Télévision (RLTV), owned by an opposition leader, Mr Roger Lumbala, transmitting from Kinshasa, Etienne Tshisekedi addressed his activists in the Lingala language: “You know that the majority of this country is on our side. You can consider me President of the Republic”. Claiming to hold the public confidence of the majority of the Congolese people, he stated that, for the remainder of the electoral process, the authorities should address themselves to him. He then launched “an ultimatum of 48 hours to the government” to release his “fighters”, arrested during the recent protests, notably in the Congolese capital. “If they fail to meet this ultimatum, I will ask the population to attack the prisons and free them, and as President, I order the prison guards not to resist them”, he continued. Following this statement, the government cut the signal of RLTV. This was a “precautionary measure” until the media regulation authority had had chance to investigate the matter, according to Lambert Mende, the Minister for Communications and Media.

On the 8th of November, the Superior Audiovisual and Communications Council (CSAC) decided to suspend RLTV from broadcasting “up to and including the 14th of November”. “The opponent’s comments are not simply a phrase. He was claiming that from the 6th of December he would become President of the Republic, with or without an election. And he declared the elections unnecessary, since the people were “on his side” explained Mrs Chantal Kanyimbo, reporter for the body for the regulation of the media. The CSAC equally warned Mr Tshisekedi that to repeat making such comments through media broadcasts would be to run the risk of having “more severe penalties” imposed.

On the 9th of November, according to a statement released by the Minister for Communications and Media, Lambert Mende, the Congolese civil aviation authority granted the South African aviation company Aeronautic Solutions permission to fly over Congolese airspace. The UDPS chartered a 7-seater Learjet aircraft, registered S-LXH. The request to fly over Congolese airspace was made the same day, according to the statement.

On the morning of the 10th of November, following authorisation for the Learjet ZS-LXH chartered by the South African company Aeronautic Solutions, the secretary general of UDPS, Jacquemain Shabani, approached the civil aviation authority (AAC) to obtain a cancellation of the original authorisation and to request a second authorisation manuscript. The secretary general of the UDPS cited “inconveniences imposed by our contractor”. The request of the 10th of November referred to a new type of aircraft, a ‘Grumman’ with 11 seats and 3 crew members, registered ZS-TPG in South Africa. This aircraft was chartered by the South African company Allegencia Air South Africa for 9 days with the following flight-plan: Johannesburg, Kisangani, Goma, Bukavu, Kinshasa, Johannesburg.

On the 10th of November, Etienne Tshisekedi landed in Kisangani at around 9.45pm local time, having departed from South Africa. In reference to his comments broadcast on RLTV, he stated that he simply wanted to “allay the people’s fears of a dictatorship”. “Every dictatorship is based on fear. Tomorrow, with the rule of law, the Congolese people will have to abandon their fear and have faith in themselves. My way of educating the Congolese people is to allay the fear in their minds by rallying them to go and terrorise those who have been terrorising the people for so long, so that tomorrow they (the people) will be a real focus. It was not a call for violence,” he explained. “Between he who arbitrarily arrests and kills the Congolese people, and me, who tells the people to take responsibility and go and liberate your compatriots who have been imprisoned (…), which of us violates the constitution?” asked Étienne Tshisekedi. The leader of the UDPS again declared himself President of the Republic during this interview. “The sovereign of this country is the Congolese people, who have long proclaimed me (President); this is not self-proclamation unless you can prove otherwise,” he explained.

On the 11th of November, in Kisangani, in front of around 5,000 people, during a speech which lasted almost two hours, Etienne Tshisekedi reiterated the comments he had made during the RLTV interview. He stated: “You have real power in this country, as the voice of the people is the voice of God. If one of you has fallen victim to unnecessary probing by the police, the military or a member of the PPRD [Peoples Party for Reconstruction and Democracy, currently in power], take action and terrorise them. Even if they run away, we have to follow them… I offer an ultimatum of 48 hours to the government in Kabila to free all of our fighters imprisoned in Mbuji Mayi, Lubumbashi and Kinshasa. Otherwise, I will ask those based in Kinshasa (…) to mobilise, to break into the Makala prison (in Kinshasa) and to liberate our unjustly arrested fighters by force.” Mr Tshisekedi gave the Minister for Communications and Media, Lambert Mende, 24 hours to reinstate the television signal that had been blocked. “Otherwise, my followers based in Kinshasa will go to Mende’s office (…) and terrorise him, so that he will understand that things have changed in Congo,” he threatened.

Civil society speaks out

On the 28th of October, one month prior to the presidential and parliamentary elections, 41 Congolese and international humanitarian aid and human rights organisations announced that they were concerned about the increase in violence and called for Congolese and international politicians to take urgent measures to prevent violence throughout the elections, to protect civilians and to guarantee fair, open and credible elections.

According to the NGOs, recent events revealed an alarming potential for violence and destabilisation in the run up to the elections. Violent clashes between the police and the opposition have been on-going since the start of September, resulting in several deaths and many injuries in Kinshasa. Added to this electoral violence is the generalised insecurity which has plagued the country for years, especially in the East. “The Congolese authorities say that there is peace and security in the DR Congo. But with the elections barely one month away, political tensions are rising and clashes between activists and political parties are a regular occurrence. The Congolese government’s decision to ban political public demonstrations shows its inability to prevent and respond to electoral violence, and contravenes the Congolese constitution,” insists Jérôme Bonso, coordinator of the coalition Action for Transparent and Peaceful Elections (AETA) in DR Congo.

For its part, HRW (Human Rights Watch) claims to have found, since last March, dozens of cases of hate speech, based on ethnic hatred, by political candidates and their party members, notably in Katanga and in the East of the country.

They have called for judicial authorities to launch enquiries into such cases, to enforce the Congolese law as well as upholding the code of conduct throughout the electoral campaign.

HRW’s senior researcher for Africa, Anneke Van Woudenberg, says the international NGO for the defence of human rights would like to see the electoral campaign carried out in a “credible, non-violent” manner.

These organisations call for the following measures to be quickly implemented:

– The Congolese authorities should ensure that civilians are able to participate in the elections in safety and dignity, deploying a well-trained and well-equipped national police force and guaranteeing that the police will not use excessive force. The authorities should respect freedom of expression and freedom of the press, guaranteeing the right to assemble and the right to peaceful protest, and refraining from any attempts at intimidation.

– The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should immediately make more information about its strategies publicly available, especially with regard to data collection and the publication of the results.

– The political parties should sign up to the code of conduct, accept the results of a fair and free election, and ask their activists to remain calm. They should avoid speeches that incite hatred and violence.

– The UN mission in DR Congo (Monusco) should ensure that its rapid reaction force and the UN police force are ready for deployment in risk areas in order to prevent and to respond to any electoral violence, including responding to any excessive and deliberate use of force by the Congolese authorities against civilians.

On the 4th of November, Action for Transparent and Peaceful Elections, a platform of the Congolese civil society, AETA, and EurAc (the European Network for Central Africa) said they were highly concerned by the logistical, technical, political, judicial, and security issues relating to the implementation of the electoral calendar. To avoid delays to the electoral schedule, AETA and EurAc have recommended that the Congolese authorities implement a framework of continuous consultation between the INEC, the political parties and the civil society. This framework should propose contingency plans for any delays which may accumulate during the preparation, organisation and implementation of the schedule of operations leading up to the presidential and parliamentary elections on the 28th of November. This framework should also work to a specific agenda; it shall have no decision-making powers and will not be a power-sharing mechanism. It will manage the potential for destabilisation which could arise if the presidential term is not kept according to the constitutional schedule. AETA and EurAc have asked the European Union and its member states to support and regulate this process.

The coordinator of the New Civil Society (NSSC) Jonas Tshiombela, has given the UDPS, led by Etienne Tshisekedi, and the PPRD, led by incumbent President Joseph Kabila, 7 days to cease all the violence which currently characterises the electoral campaign. He also demanded that their leaders commit publicly to peaceful and open elections and call for their activists to end the violence. Mr Tshiombela, who also lamented several instances of violation of the law, notably the presence of candidate posters in places where they are banned (schools, stadiums…) and the continued presence of candidates in the administration, called for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enforce the law.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) appealed to the authorities to arrest one of the parliamentary election candidates, Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka, leader of an armed group known as Maï Maï Sheka, which operated in the remote territory of Walikale, in North-Kivu province in eastern Congo. HRW released a statement that a Congolese arrest warrant for gang rape had been issued against this man on the 6th of January 2011 and that he is wanted for crimes against humanity.

The International Community responds

On the 8th of November, in a press release published in Kinshasa, the European Union said it is “concerned about the latest developments in the electoral campaign in DR Congo” and says it has “noted acts of violence and public comments over the last few days which incite disrespect of the law, and which could lead to a climate of violence and social, political and ethnic tension. The EU has once again called for “all politicians in DR Congo to commit, without hesitation, to a peaceful electoral process, which is respectful to all and which will allow for free, open and credible elections”.

Equally, Paris has asked for both the Congolese authorities and the opposition to “avoid any statement or action that would aggravate an already tense situation” as pronounced by Bernard Valero, spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The British ambassador in Kinshasa, Neil Wigan, in a statement, also called for candidates to “show restraint throughout the electoral campaign” and to “avoid the use of language that could exacerbate tensions between communities or that might lead to confrontations with security forces.”

The UN mission in DR Congo (Monusco), which is providing logistical support for the organisation of the election, has expressed “concern over the language used by some political leaders, which incites electoral violence” and which is “in direct violation of Congolese electoral law and international electoral standards.”

On the 9th of November, the UN expressed “serious concerns” about the violence in DR Congo, less than three weeks before the elections, warning that this climate runs the risk of “jeopardising the democratic process”.

The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), published a 24-page report which lists violations of human rights and basic freedoms, as well as acts of violence, committed between November 2010 and September 2011 within the context of the presidential and parliamentary elections of the 28th of November.

The pre-election period has been characterised by “numerous politically motivated human rights violations of varying degrees of severity”, according to the report.

It reveals that as the elections draw near and the political activity intensifies, “there is a significant risk that human rights violations and acts of violence will increase.”

It indicates “serious concerns about the current situation” and concludes that “continued repression of human rights and basic freedoms” during this time “runs the risk of increased violence by both individuals and by political parties” which “jeopardises the democratic process and could lead to post-electoral violence.”

The UNJHRO listed 188 cases of human rights violations linked to the electoral process. These violations most often infringe upon individuals’ freedom of expression, the right to physical integrity, the right to liberty and security of the person and the right to peaceful assembly.

The report stresses: “The situation in the east of the country is particularly disturbing, as some political parties have been targeted and their members have been deprived of their freedom or have been subjected to ill- treatment and threats.”

In several incidents in Maniema and in Bas-Congo, “civilians have been threatened, beaten or arrested” by the Congolese police “simply for having worn T-shirts with the colours of the opposition party”.

The list of violations includes other incidents, such as: death threats made to those defending human rights, who held a press conference in which they denounced the reforms; repeated requests to attend the National Intelligence Agency; the ill-treatment of a civilian for having asked ‘unpatriotic’ questions; and the arrest and mistreatment of individuals for having discussed politics in a hairdressing salon.

The majority of the violations directly involve the Congolese national police (82 cases) or the National Intelligence Agency (42 cases), according to the report.

At the same time, some political parties did not sufficiently control their members, something which has contributed to acts of violence and public disorder during political protests.

To combat these violations the UNJHRO has asked the Congolese government to publicly clarify its zero-tolerance policy towards violations of civil and political rights, to prevent human rights violations being perpetrated by members of the Congolese national police and the National Intelligence Agency, to fight against the impunity of state officials who have violated human rights, and not to prevent or impede public demonstrations or other peaceful expressions of political opinion. They have asked political parties to “make a public declaration to promote peaceful participation in the electoral process and to call for their activists, particularly the youths, to refrain from violence and to respect national law and public order.”

————————

This English translation has been possible thanks to the project Mondo Lingua: Free translation of websites for NGOs and non-profit-making organisations. A project managed by Mondo Services. Translator: Robinson Cheryl E. Susie F. has also contributed to the achievement of this project.

link www.mondo-services.com