Violence threatening DRC poll
2006-10-25 19:26
Kinshasa - Clashes between rival parties have raised tensions ahead of Democratic Republic of Congo's election on Sunday, greatly reducing campaigning by candidates fearful of violence and underlining the dangerous role of well-armed private armies.
The run-off vote between incumbent President Joseph Kabila and vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba is meant to be the final step in a drawn-out peace process to end DRC's 1998-2003 war, which led to the deaths of more than four million people.
But days before the run-off, neither candidate has ventured out of the capital, leaving campaigning to their lieutenants.
Several rallies across the vast country have been marred by clashes between their supporters.
Kabila failed to win a winning majority in the first round of the election on July 30, necessitating the run off with second-placed Bemba.
Red bandana-clad fighters
That outcome sparked pitched battles in August between Kabila's personal guard, using tanks and rocket-propelled grenades, and Bemba's red bandana-clad fighters on the streets of Kinshasa.
"I think the Congolese people witnessed this (fighting) and I don't want to take any further risks," Bemba told reporters when asked on Tuesday why he was not actively campaigning.
Kabila's camp, which was largely blamed for the August fighting in which they attacked several Bemba houses and offices, also cited security fears.
"There are people with weapons everywhere. It's a threat," said a Kabila aide.
"The security issue is a problem. What happened in August is a threat to both candidates' security so this is why they are not campaigning," said the aide.
Since August there have been numerous promises to maintain the peace, but only a handful of weapons have been handed in and United Nations officials say the fighters appear to be rearming.
Plethora of rebel groups
Jason Stearns, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group think-tank, said: "It's very dangerous to head towards elections like this where the loser still has substantial military capacity."
During the last three years, tens of thousands of fighters from a plethora of rebel groups, militias and army factions are supposed to have been integrated into a national army.
But the process has been dogged by continued fighting, shortage of funds and a lack of political will.
"Neither of the candidates has wanted to integrate their men - they want them as a reserve force, just in case," said Stearns.
"The danger is that the loser will not accept the results and contest them violently."
Kabila's presidential guard is believed to number more than 6 000 men in Kinshasa. Thousands more are spread across the country.
As a result, Bemba has also been reluctant to limit his bodyguard and now has well more than 600 fighters in the capital.
Diplomats worry that the slightest spark could set these two forces at each other's throats.
Fears of violence tangible
Having spent millions of dollars on rallies, hats and T-shirts during the lead up to first round, diplomats say Bemba and Kabila also appear to have run out of money.
Campaigning for this round was limited to two weeks and both camps have concentrated on broadcasting adverts, rather than travelling across the former Belgian colony.
But fears of violence are tangible, prompting many expatriates to send their families home.
A European Union force, sent to back up the world's largest UN peacekeeping mission, has brought several hundred reinforcements to the capital.
"The climate stinks," said a Western diplomat in Kinshasa. "We are trying to bring democracy to a country through people who are not democrats."