Credible election vital in DRC

2005-05-05 09:27

New York - Democratic Republic of Congo's transitional government still has a long way to go before it will be ready to hold national elections, but a credible vote is possible and registration will begin next month, said UN officials.

DRC was supposed to hold elections on June 30 as part of a peace plan ending a five-year war. However, the country still hasn't passed an electoral law and the government is almost certain to announce the vote will be delayed, possibly until October or November.

Margaret Carey, the principal Africa officer in the department of peacekeeping, said on Wednesday a UN mission that recently travelled to DRC determined that these issues can be solved and the vote can go ahead, though she said it was up to the government to say when.

A credible election will be key to maintaining the shaky peace that has held since 2002 in much of the vast African nation, where an estimated four million people died from starvation, disease and war.

Overcoming hurdles, preserving peace

"Our feeling is that elections can very much be held in the Congo," Carey said. "It's going to be challenging, but those are not overwhelming challenges."

Carey said registration would begin in June but there were massive practical hurdles too, such as the country is the size of western Europe but has few roads.

Congo's transitional government has also struggled with only limited success to extend its authority in the three years since the war ended.

In addition, militia groups are still active in Congo's east, particularly the provinces of Ituri and North and South Kivu. A 16 000-strong UN peacekeeping force has had some success in maintaining peace in the region, said Francoise Dureau, chief of the situation centre for peacekeeping forces.

The troops have been helping disarm and reintegrate rebel forces as well as train government troops who would help provide security for a vote. Dureau said more than 11 500 ex-combatants have been disarmed so far, of whom 3 600 are child soldiers.

UN officials would like more peacekeeping troops but have been blocked by the UN security council. Dureau warned the current troop levels probably wouldn't be sufficient if violence spikes again in DRC's east.

"We all know that we are not going to get 15 000 more soldiers in the eastern (Congo), this is not possible, so the key here is getting together with the local forces," Dureau said.

- AP