1st September 2011

On 28 November 2011, the DRC will hold its second ever multi-party election. However, there are fears that there is little prospect of a serious challenge to the dominance of President Kabila and the leading administration, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD). Kabila’s principal rival for power, Jean-Pierre Bemba, who won 42% of the national vote in the 2006 election, is currently being held by the International Criminal Court and stands accused of war crimes. Although the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) has decided that he should run as their presidential candidate, the Chamber of the ICC ruled on 16 August that Bemba would not be permitted to leave custody provisionally to register for elections, commenting that it was “not the type of circumstance that warrants such extraordinary relief”.

The rest of the political opposition remains fractured. On 24 August, 25 leading figures from the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) chose Etienne Tshisekedi to stand for the party in the presidential fight, but soon afterwards Vital Kamerhe, the head of the Union of the Congolese Nation (UNC), and Thomas Luhaka, secretary-general of the MLC, expressed their resistance to this decision. There are reports that since September 2010, Kamerhe, Tshisekedi and lesser-known presidential candidates such as Oscar Kashala have all gone to see Bemba in his cell in Schevingen, possibly hoping to set up a political deal (although none have been confirmed). Given the fact that at the start of 2011 the constitution was changed so that the Congolese elections will involve a single voting round rather than two, it is now of heightened importance for the opposition to agree on a common candidate if they wish to maximise their chances of challenging Kabila’s leadership. However, on 27 August, the Independent National Electoral Commission in the DRC had still not received any applications for the presidential contest.

Even if the president’s rivals are able to present a united front against him, uncertainty remains over whether electoral proceedings will be fair. On 19 August, Serge Kembila, a cameraman working for a private TV channel in Kinshasa, was attacked by figures with links to the PPRD. Supposedly, the assault was carried out because of Kembila’s decision to film empty seats at a PPRD conference. The sight of unoccupied chairs was deemed to have the potential to damage the party’s reputation. Whilst the ruling circle exercises such extensive power over the media, opposition groups will face difficulties in making their voices heard.

Furthermore, with the news that ballot boxes, voting booths and other electoral equipment have not yet reached the DRC, one diplomat has warned that “logistical delays could lead to an inevitable postponement of the elections”.

However, the picture from the DRC is not entirely bleak. More than 30 million have registered for the elections so far and USAID has given $12 million towards civic education and electoral preparations.

For a background to these political contests and details of the work being done by the United Nations Development Programme to support the election, watch this video.