by Juakali Kambale – SANF 06 No 01
The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo have overwhelmingly endorsed a new constitution, laying the groundwork for what could be the country’s first democratic elections since independence in 1960.
More than 80 percent of the eligible Congolese voted in favour of the new constitution in the December 2005 referendum.
Observers hailed the conduct of the referendum and praised the people of the DRC for their patriotism and massive participation.
Father Apollinaire Malu Malu, president of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said voter participation was overwhelming and thanked the Congolese people for their patriotism.
Yusuf Abubakar, the leader of the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) observer team, declared the poll free and fair.
“Congolese people were very responsible when they were voting and were aware of the seriousness of what they were engaged in,” he declared after the president of the Independent Electoral Commission had published the initial results of the polls.
Abubakar said the referendum should be considered as the first step to the elections, and urged the electoral commission to fine-tune its electoral management skills and increase the capacity of the electoral agents to guarantee greater success in upcoming elections.
About 25 million people cast their ballots during the 18-19 December referendum. The vote was held at the same time within the two prescribed days through out the vast southern Africa country.
According to the IEC, some 36,000 polling stations were established throughout the country in order to reach all the potential voters. A total of 280 international and 5,000 local observers witnessed the voting process.
The referendum was largely aided by the United Nations election observers who contributed various logistical requirements like aircraft to deploy the electoral equipments.
The victory for the “yes vote” effectively stops a potential leadership vacuum that would have resulted if the new constitution was rejected. The tenure for the current transitional government – a creation of a compromise peace deal reached between former warring parties in 1992 – comes to an end in June.
The “yes vote”ushers in political stability in the DRC and is expected to unleash the vast – but hitherto untapped – potential of one of Africa’s economic jewels.
A rejection of the constitution would have plunged this country of more than 60 million people back into chaos.
The country has not seen much peace since its independence from Belgium in 1960. The last democratic elections were in 1960 which resulted in the election of the government of the late Patrice Lumumba. Subsequent attempts to hold democratic elections have faltered.
The “yes vote” in the referendum will hopefully bring to finality one of Africa’s longest running constitutional deadlocks. The DRC constitution has been amended several times since the promulgation of its first post-independence constitution in June 1967.
Since then, the document has been at the centre of internal strife. The first amendment was in August 1974, which was revised in February 1978 and April 1990. A transitional constitution was again promulgated in April 1994 following the establishment of a government of national unity.
Late president Laurent Kabila – father to current DRC leader Joseph Kabila – attempted to introduce a draft constitution in 1998 but the process stalled.
A new transitional constitution was adopted in April 2003, thanks to an all-inclusive power-sharing accord signed by all political parties in Pretoria on 17 December 2002 and formally ratified by all parties on 2 April 2003.
This accord – albeit a shaky one – formed the basis of the current transitional government set-up headed by Kabila and four vice presidents, each drawn from the main opposition parties.
The March elections will pave the way for the installation of a new president by 30 June.
The referendum is a culmination of the peace process, which started in 2003, following political negotiations in South Africa involving former belligerent forces.
Following the negotiations, a transitional government was given the mandate to organise the elections within two years.
The agreement initially gave the transitional government up to June 2005 to hold elections but the deadline was extended by a further year.
Meanwhile, as the people of the Congo celebrate the overwhelming endorsement of the new constitution, their leaders face the daunting tasks of ensuring that there is peace in all parts of the country ahead of the March elections and embarking on a massive voter education campaign.
