Analysis: Congo's Ray of Hope
Council on Foreign Relations
July 27, 2006
Author: Stephanie Hanson
Holding an election in a country that hasn’t had one in four decades presents a substantial challenge. But when that country is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home of the planet’s deadliest war of the past decade (TIME), mind-boggling logistics are compounded by a host of other problems: a ravaged infrastructure, rebel militias in the east, and riots and unrest in the capital, Kinshasa. The international community hopes this will be remembered as the country’s first fully democratic elections, but a boycott by a major opposition party (FT) and violence at opposition rallies across the country (Mail & Guardian), have many hoping for the more modest goal of post-election stability. The election's challenges are examined in this new Backgrounder.
The BBC dispatched a team of reporters to blog on the election and they report rising tension as election day approaches. But the United Nations, which maintains roughly 17,000 troops in Congo—its largest peacekeeping force in the world—remains optimistic despite the enormous challenges (VOA). The ballot for Sunday’s elections—in which thirty-three presidential candidates and some 9,700 parliamentary candidates are running—is six poster-sized pages long (Reuters). In a country the size of Western Europe with fewer than 300 miles of roads, getting those ballots—by plane, boat, and foot—to 25 million registered voters presents a logistical challenge.
Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.
Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.
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