Congo election gets vote of no confidence

Jean Pierre Bemba greets supporters in Kinshasa. Picture / Reuters

KINSHASA, Congo - Vote-counting in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo is descending into chaos, nearly two weeks after the country held its first democratic poll in more than 40 years.

The results show an east-west split. President Joseph Kabila is popular in eastern districts, polling as high as 90 per cent in some towns. His main opponent, former war lord and current Vice-President, Jean-Pierre Bemba, is the frontrunner in the capital, Kinshasa, and other western regions.

Most observers agreed the poll had been organised smoothly. But problems began with counting and collating the votes from more than 53,000 polling stations spread across a country the size of western Europe.

In Kinshasa, observers reported seeing ballot papers burned and dumped en masse. In other parts of the country, election observers have been barred from counting centres. Although eight separate international observing missions were in the country on election day, most observers have now left.

One international observer said much thought and effort went into the roll-out process but no thought had gone into the roll-in. "The counting centre in Kinshasa is a nightmare, papers flying all over the place."

Pressure from the United Nations and donor countries has been put on the independent electoral commission to get results published as soon as possible.

The lack of infrastructure in a country with only 50km of paved roads has also caused problems. The South African Government offered to send helicopters to pick up ballot boxes in the hardest-to-reach places, but the UN could not afford the fuel costs.

The Congo has been ravaged by war over the past 10 years and many political players were formerly militia leaders. The fear is that complaints over the validity of the election could spill into renewed violence.

Already Bemba and another vice-president, Azarias Ruberwa, have questioned the legitimacy of the poll. "The danger is one candidate starts claiming victory when they haven't won," said the observer. "When the results come out it could be chaos."

Kabila will remain President if he gains more than 50 per cent of the vote. Otherwise, there will be a run-off between the top two.

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