UN powers urge caution in DRC
2006-08-03 09:10
Kinshasa - United Nations powers on Wednesday warned rivals in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo not to sow unease among voters as they awaited results of the first multi-party election in 46 years.
According to the International Committee supporting the Transition in the DRC (CIAT), politicians and the media should avoid "mispresentation" of early counting in the July 30 vote.
CIAT, whose members included permanent UN security council powers: Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States, said: "Such misrepresentation sows unease among the people and could threaten public order."
The warning came as some private television stations owned by candidates - in particular President Joseph Kabila and his arch rival vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba - broadcast results in towns or villages, presenting them as an indication of a national trend.
Presidential, parliamentary votes
Final results were not due until August 31 as Africa's third largest country - almost as vast as western Europe - transported and counted ballots from both presidential and parliamentary votes.
According to the CIAT: "The publication of provisional election results is the exclusive responsibility of the Independent Election Commission."
Results from 50 000 local voting offices were still being taken to 62 election commission centres, where they would be brought together before publication.
The CIAT said that the election commission was still consolidating the count in the presence of political party representatives and election observers.
It said: "At this stage, any results must be partial and incomplete and cannot represent anything other than a partial trend."
Violation of the electoral law
The Independent Election Commission and the country's press regulator also published a joint statement denouncing media for "flagrant violation of the electoral law concerning publication of the results".
Such abuses could "disturb the electoral process and create a climate of tension that is pointless and dangerous".
The two bodies warned that a recurrence would lead to sanctions that could go as far as "the pure and simple closure" of television and radio stations concerned.
The warning was echoed by the UN Organisation Mission in the DRC (Monuc) chief William Swing, who urged media and "others" against the temptation of declaring victory for candidates or spreading fraud accusations before electoral authorities had completed their work.
He said: "It is in the interests of the people and process to be patient and stay calm." The electoral commission had said it would not publish any trend from the presidential vote before August 20.
The two main presidential contenders, youthful incumbent Kabila and rebel-turned-politician Bemba, said they saw no reason to cry foul, despite some irregularities and violence during the first multi-party elections since the eve of independence from Belgium 46 years ago.