DRC poll observers 'satisfied'

2006-08-02 11:57

Kinshasa - A leading presidential candidate in the Democratic Republic of Congo added his voice on Tuesday to allegations of irregularities in elections, but the two main contenders and international observers remained satisfied with the poll.

Azaria Ruberwa, who was also vice-president, alleged "massive fraud", mostly in favour of incumbent President Joseph Kabila, and demanded that a new vote be held "in all voting stations, where serious irregularities were noted".

Ruberwa, head of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), a former Rwandan-backed rebel group, accused "representatives of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI)of acting as political militants".

He alleged irregularities in the capital, Kinshasa, as well as in the east of the country, the centre, the northeast and the southeast.

First multi-party elections

On Monday, several minor candidates, including the son of former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, also alleged serious irregularities in the presidential and legislative elections - the first multi-party elections since the eve of independence from Belgium 46 years ago.

But the two leading candidates, Kabila and rebel-turned-politician Jean-Pierre Bemba, still appeared to be happy with the polls, and international observers continued to urge candidates to respect the outcome and lodge any complaints via official channels.

A spokesperson for Kabila said that it was up to the country's supreme court to rule on complaints, while a spokesperson for Bemba's party said that although some "worrying things" had been noted, this was just the result of "inexperience and clumsiness".

The United Nations mission in the DRC said on Monday that despite some "isolated cases of insecurity and disorder", the vote generally went well.

Political landscape

The Carter Centre, the human rights group founded by former US president Jimmy Carter, which sent a 58-member team to observe the elections, said on Tuesday that the irregularities "appear to be minor".

However, it said that some deficiencies in procedures weakened important safeguards designed to verify voters' identities.

And a foreign diplomat in Kinshasa said that the fraud allegations were from candidates on the losing side, frightened of losing power.

The diplomat said: "They are realising that they are going to disappear from the political landscape."

CEI vice-president Norbert Basengezi said that by early on Tuesday, ballots in 90% of districts had been processed and results posted on the doors of polling stations.

The final nation-wide count was not expected for three weeks, though, as voting was still under way in some districts and because of the DRC's vast size and weak infrastructure.

Turnout figures were not yet known, but Basengezi said participation had been high throughout the country and international observers said they were impressed by the strong mobilisation.

- AFP