DRC chaos engulfs vote counting
2006-08-08 12:17
Kinshasa - A week after the Democratic Republic of Congo's landmark presidential elections unfolded in relative peace, electoral experts said the disorder and chaos that had long hobbled the Central African country was creeping into the tallying - raising questions about the fairness of the outcome.
Human Rights Watch's Anneke Van Woudenberg, one of nearly 2 000 international observers watching over the process, said: "There was widespread chaos at counting centres. There's a possibility for significant tampering."
Suspect results could be used as an excuse for war - particularly as several presidential candidates were former rebels who still commanded personal militia.
Polls 'meant to end a transitional govt'
Several candidates already were alleging fraud, and the seeming disorder gripping the ballot-collecting centres could give their charges momentum among the DRC's 58 million people.
The elections were meant to end a transitional government led by President Joseph Kabila, who arranged the national-unity administration in 2002 to halt six years of near-constant war. Turnout was 80% of the 25 million registered voters.
Observers had complained about limitations on voting monitors, unpaid electoral workers, poor security at counting centres and poor oversight.
Guy Mukadi Nkongolo, a worker at one of dozens of centres, where votes were being tallied, cross-checked and baled for long-term storage, said: "There are some difficulties. We're missing materials. We have no transportation. It's hard and the conditions are terrible."
Civil strife, wars, corrupt rule
A 30-year-old Nkongolo said: "But we're patient. Even if we have some small imperfections, for me it's OK."
The July 30 vote was the first democratic balloting for a leader since independence in 1960 in a country long wracked by civil strife, wars and corrupt rule.
The United Nations and international partners spent more than a half-billion dollars arranging the vote - a massive logistical undertaking in a country half the size of Europe with few roads and unreliable telephone and power services.
The Atlanta-based Carter Centre had charged that ballots had been left attended and that a fire destroyed election materials in at least one collection centre.
The monitoring group said electoral officials should allow party officials and the public to scrutinise results to quell any fears of fraud.
Colin Stewart, co-director of the Carter Centre's 58 election observers, said: "There have been some serious problems and remedial steps need to be taken so that the public can verify the results."
- AP