News About Congo

I Hope It's Just Awkward

Kabila's inauguration is scheduled today. Tshisekedi's inauguration is scheduled Friday. This situation could become awkward. But it's probably will become violent.

http://m.voanews.com/english/Butty-DRC-Election-Tshisekedi-Moleka-19december11-135841233.html

Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi says he will take the oath of office after declaring himself the country's rightful president.
DRC election officials said Tshisekedi lost last month's presidential election to incumbent Joseph Kabila.
But, on Sunday, Tshisekedi repeated his assertion that the vote counting process was flawed and that voters actually elected him president.
Albert Moleka, spokesman and director of cabinet for Tshisekedi, says the opposition leader will take the oath of office Friday.

US says Congo polls were "seriously flawed"

It's unanimous by all the independent observers. Congo's election results were not credible,fair, accurate, or just.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/15/worldupdates/2011-12-14T220344Z_1_TRE7BD2BR_RTROPTT_0_UK-CONGO-ELECTION-US&sec=Worldupdates

The November 28 polls, whose outcome has already been rejected by the opposition, were seen as crucial to reinforcing stability but have been marred by poor organisation, delays, violence and accusations of widespread fraud.

The United States has closely followed observer missions including the U.S.-based Carter Center which last week said the results lacked credibility, Ambassador James Entwistle said.
"The United States believes that the management and technical execution of these elections were seriously flawed," Entwistle said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
"(They) lacked transparency and did not measure up to the positive democratic gains we have seen in recent African elections."
The elections are the first Congolese-organised polls since the end of a devastating war in 2003 which left millions dead. An earlier poll in 2006 was organised under the auspices of the United Nations.

Congo President Joseph Kabila says

"Well, they've wasted my time."

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/world/africa/congo-president-kabila-denies-reports-of-election-fraud.xml

Seated at a desk under a spreading tree, looking relaxed and with the broad Congo River flowing behind him, Mr. Kabila insisted Monday that there was no crisis in the country. Speaking in excellent English in this French-speaking country - he was raised partly in Tanzania - Mr. Kabila was dismissive of the longtime opposition leader's claims.

"I thought he was going to call me to congratulate me," Mr. Kabila said, smiling. But he issued a veiled warning to Mr. Tshisekedi: "We'll call on him to respect the laws of the land."
Mr. Kabila also brushed aside questions about widely reported government corruption in Congo, saying it was a universal problem. "Corruption exists anywhere and everywhere in the world," he said.
At the end, the president got up from the desk, smiled and, as the reporters were dismissed, said, "Well, they've wasted my time."

UN Mission Wants Congo Electoral Body To Address Poll Dispute

The UN Mission in Congo says the election results were mismanaged and lacks credibility, too!

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/UN-Mission-Wants-Congo-Electoral-Body-To-Address-Poll-Dispute--135481018.html

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) is calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to address concerns over the outcome of the disputed presidential and legislative elections.

Spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai said the world body is echoing sentiments similar to those expressed by the Carter Center and some other international observers who said the results of the vote were “mismanaged” and lack credibility.

“MONUSCO is only adding its voice to the many voices already raised that talked about some concerns following the proclamation of the results of the election,” said Mounoubai.

Two Self-Declared Leaders Keep Congo on Edge

Although it appears to be a quiet Sunday, the situation is tense. Here in Kananga, an opposition stronghold, we have not seen the level of activity as displayed in Kinshasa.
The international community needs to intervene and mediate before more blood is shed.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/world/africa/congo-police-abducting-opposition-supporters-reports-say.xml

Police were going door to door on Saturday, taking youths out of houses in an opposition neighborhood and pushing them into unmarked vehicles, a day after the incumbent was declared the winner in a disputed presidential election here.

Police officers, with automatic weapons drawn, were also seen beating one of the young men during the roundup that took place in the impoverished 20-Mai neighborhood here. The police officers, some in uniform and some in civilian clothes, ran through the neighborhood's alleyways chasing down youths; the back of their vehicle appeared crowded with young men afterward.

The purpose of the roundup was not immediately clear. But it was testimony to the tension that persists here after the official announcement on Friday that the president, Joseph Kabila, had won re-election in this mineral-rich nation. Human Rights Watch was also receiving reports of "other abductions" in the capital, Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior researcher for the group, said Saturday.

US names envoy for DR Congo peace

'The United States on Wednesday named a diplomat to focus on the Great Lakes region of Africa in a bid to devote more attention on bringing peace to the troubled DR Congo and its neighbors, AFP reported.
In an announcement long sought by activist groups, the State Department said it was naming Barrie Walkley, a career diplomat with long experience in Africa, to the new role of special advisor for the Great Lakes region.

Walkley will work "to ensure that the United States provides all the support we can to help the Great Lakes region fulfill its potential and become an area of sustainable peace and security," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. '

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n265786

Thousands flee election tension

”At least 3,500 people have arrived by boat in recent days in Congo's capital, fearing violence in the run-up to the announcement, due before midnight on 6 December, of the outcome of the presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to an official.”

This report online: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportID=94406
© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org/

No SMS in Congo for Three Days Now

Mysteriously, the internet and SMS traffic came to a halt on Friday night or Saturday morning. I thought it was common and routine outage.
It was a big problem for us who follow college football and basketball.
Then it lasted in Sunday. Um!
The internet came back late Sunday night. Just in time for second games of the NFL.
Now it appears that the outage was deliberate. Still no SMS in Congo!

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/central/DRC-Security-Forces-Ready-for-Possible-Post-Election-Violence--134897463.html

'As Congolese await the final results, the United Nations is urging political leaders to keep their supporters calm and refrain from disrupting the electoral process.
There is a feverish exchange of vote totals among Congolese, with many of the numbers gathered by SMS text messages, compiled, and then retexted as provincial or regional results.
But electoral commission president Daniel Ngoy-Mulunda says the only totals that matter are those to be announced by his commission, which is known as the CENI.'