by Patson Phiri – SANF 06 No 57
The search for lasting peace and security is being given top priority in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) presidential and parliamentary elections set for Sunday, 30 July.
The people of the DRC will be using the elections, the first democratic polls to be held in the country in more than 45 years, to find a lasting solution to internal conflicts that have often drawn in neighbouring countries.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), to which the DRC belongs, will be hoping for sustainable peace in one of Africa’s untapped economic giants.
The conduct of peaceful elections will be a major advance for the 14-member regional grouping due to the seriousness it has attached to the DRC electoral process and the need to secure peace and security before, during and after the elections.
The SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) office in the DRC was launched on 26 June following a meeting of the Inter-State Politics and Diplomacy Committee held in Namibia in June. More than 100 SADC observers were deployed to the DRC constituencies by 20 July.
The SADC team is headed by John Pandeni, Namibia’s Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development.
Pandeni noted that the invitation to foreign observers by the DRC government was “indeed proof of commitment of the people of the DRC to sustainable democracy, political tolerance and unity of purpose.”
South Africa has deployed a team of 118 election observers in the DRC.
Other observer teams are from the African Union, Angola, Botswana, the Economic Community of Central African States, the European Union (EU) and the Carter Centre, an organisation founded by former United States president, Jimmy Carter, to advance the ideals of peace worldwide.
The DRC Constitution provides for a re-run in the event that there is no outright winner in the presidential election. The winner must garner at least 50 percent of the votes cast.
The re-run, if it is necessary, has been set for 15 October with final results to be announced by the end of November.
The DRC will aim to meet the election standards and guidelines approved by SADC Heads of State and Government at their 2003 Summit in Mauritius, that aim to promote transparent elections.
The guidelines are non-binding but provide that a country preparing for elections should invite a SADC observer mission in line with the provisions of the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
The guidelines call for the full participation of citizens in the political process, freedom of association, political tolerance and the conduct of democratic elections at regular intervals, as provided by the respective national constitutions.
There is also a provision for all political parties to access the state media, the right to vote and to be voted for, guaranteed independence of the judiciary, and impartiality of the electoral institutions.
Political parties contesting the elections are urged to accept and respect the election results if they are declared free and fair by the competent national electoral authorities in accordance with the law of the land.
DRC will also face the challenge of ensuring that there are constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens and a conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections.
Calling for non-discrimination in the voters’ registration, the guidelines provide for the existence of updated and accessible voters rolls, timely announcement of the election date and the counting of the votes at polling stations.
Peace is being given top priority by the regional grouping. At the 4th meeting of ISPDC in Windhoek, it was decided that SADC Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs should pay a visit to the DRC.
The visit was organised to encourage all political forces and stakeholders in DRC to help to consolidate the achievements attained so far.
The ISPDC meeting felt that the international community and individual countries, especially those countries that are neighbouring the DRC, should ensure full support and cooperation in the peace process in that country.
More than 200 political parties are contesting the elections in this vast, mineral-rich central African country.
At least 9,700 parliamentary candidates are contesting the 500 parliamentary seats
while 33 others are contesting the presidential elections. Five of the presidential candidates are women.
