Photo Credit: REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly
For the last month we have warned of tensions running high in the lead-up to Election Day. We spoke about momentary outbursts of violence, clashes between the opposition groups and government forces.
Today, riot police stand guard in front of Kinshasa’s parliament building. There is a widespread unrest, a waiting amongst the people of Congo. Today was the deadline for the official announcement of Congo’s next president.
Just moments ago, CENI officials announced it would be another 48 hours before they could finish tallying votes.
In the interim, the ruling party has shut down all SMS throughout the nation, halting the spread of common information. In the Tshisekedi-dominated capital, Kabila has deployed police and military troops to the streets.
By the Carter Center’s estimate, between 12-15% of polling stations reported dramatic problems. That percentage is a large enough gap to call close figures into question, no matter who the first count says is the winner. Right now, the most reliable polling puts Kabila and Tshisekedi so neck and neck that that swing could be the deciding factor.
Today, policy experts Anthony Gambino and Michael O’Hanlon, co-wrote a CNN op-ed warning that “The electoral dysfunctionality comes on top of Congo’s other huge problems that have put it dead last in the U.N.’s World Development Index. It now risks another round of violence—and perhaps even civil warfare.”
At this point, if the people call the elections rigged, it will be extremely difficult to disprove these claims. The people of Congo have legitimate sources claiming irregularities at the voting stations; other sources reported pre-marked ballots arriving from South Africa, and pop-up voting stations aimed to ramp up Kabila votes. We have seen ballots burned, and hard copy evidence of fake registration cards. These doubts are viable and substantial.
The Carter Center released a statement implying that it is ready to accept the official announcement of the CENI whenever they finish counting. And yet, according to Jason Stearns, in a closed door meeting of the UN Security Council, global leaders were deadlocked in their divide between whether or not they should be concerned about the legitimacy of the vote.
It is important that our leaders acknowledge widespread irregularities were witnessed and recorded. Welcoming another Kabila term for the mere sake of stability is not pragmatic in the long term. Millions of Congolese citizens went to the polls last week to participate in their own destiny. They deserve to see it handed to them transparently, and without widespread doubt. The people of this young democracy want their voices to matter, and ultimately, to be heard.
