Polls open after DR Congo clashes

28 November 2011 Last updated at 01:27 GMT

Supplies had to be sent out to 60,000 polling stations across the vast country

Polls have opened for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential elections, after a run-up marred by violence and logistical delays.

The head of the electoral commission said 99% of polling stations were ready and voting would go ahead as planned.

At least three people were killed on Saturday, leading to a police ban on final campaign rallies.

It is the second presidential poll in DR Congo since the end of wars from 1996 to 2003 which killed thousands.

Ahead of the vote, international organisations appealed for calm.

Vast country

Election officials have been scrambling to get ballot papers distributed to all 60,000 of the polling stations in a country which is about two-thirds the size of Western Europe.

“Our teams assure us that things are going well and that the polling stations will open tomorrow [Monday] on time,” said Daniel Ngoy Mulunda, the head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

“There will be no postponement.”

In all, 11 candidates are running for president and more than 18,000 are vying for seats in the 500-member parliament.

In some areas, voters will have to leaf through booklets of ballot papers, says the BBC’s Will Ross, in Kinshasa.

Polling stations opened at 06:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

Airport delay

On Sunday, opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi called off a rally which would have contravened the ban on political gathering imposed after his supporters came to blows with those of incumbent President Joseph Kabila on Saturday, leaving three people dead.

Mr Tshisekedi had vowed to ignore the ban and became locked in a seven-hour stand-off with police at Kinshasa airport on Sunday. It ended when he agreed to call off the gathering.

Scuffles erupted and police fired tear gas and live ammunition to break up the crowds.

Police later delayed Mr Tshisekedi at Kinshasa’s airport until late on Saturday forcing him to miss his final rally.

A number of officials from Mr Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) were reported to have been roughed up or arrested.

Mr Tshisekedi called on his supporters to gather later on Sunday, despite electoral laws against campaigning on the day before the vote, but the rally never came to pass.

The European Union observer mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo criticised both the police and the various candidates over the pre-election violence.

Delaying Mr Tshisekedi from leaving the airport had been “a serious impediment” to his right to campaign, the mission said.

“The mission deplores the chaotic and improvised management of the last political meetings by many presidential candidates, by the Kinshasa authorities which restrained freedom of opinion, meetings and demonstrations,” it added.

The United Nations too, criticised the security forces.

“The security forces should refrain from any acts that could heighten tensions and create any difficulties on the eve of elections,” Reuters news agency quoted Mounoubai Madnodje, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, as saying.

The chairman of the African Union, Jean Ping, also expressed his concerns.

In a press release issued on Sunday, he said he “deplores the violence that took place in Kinshasa, which resulted in loss of life, as well as the various other incidents that marred the election campaign”.

Mr Tshisekedi accused the head of the UN 20,000-strong peacekeeping mission in Congo, American diplomat Roger Meece, of favouring the Kabila government.

“The international community has supported [in Congo] Africa’s worst dictatorships for 51 years,” Reuters quoted him as saying, adding he wanted Mr Meece to step down.

The last election, in 2006, was marred by weeks of street battles led by supporters of the losing candidate.

Our correspondent says that whether it is peaceful or not this time will depend to a great extent on the behaviour of the candidates and whether the losers are willing to accept defeat.

Inside DR Congo

• SIZE
• MINERAL WEALTH
• TRANSPORT
• POPULATION
• DATA

The Democratic Republic of Congo covers 2,344,858 square km of land in the centre of Africa, making it the 12th largest country in the world.

DR Congo has abundant mineral wealth. It has more than 70% of the world’s coltan, used to make vital components of mobile phones, 30% of the planet’s diamond reserves and vast deposits of cobalt, copper and bauxite. This wealth however has attracted looters and fuelled the country’s civil war.

Despite the country’s size, transport infrastructure is very poor. Of 153,497km of roads, only 2,794km are paved. There are around 4,000 km of railways but much is narrow-gauge track and in poor condition. Waterways are vital to transport goods but journeys can take months to complete. Overcrowded boats frequently capsize, while DR Congo has more plane crashes than any other country.

With an estimated population of 71 million, DR Congo is the fourth most populous country in Africa. Some 35% of the population live in cities and the capital Kinshasa is by far the largest, with more than 8 million inhabitants. DR Congo has around 200 ethnic identities with the majority of people belonging to the Kongo, Luba and Mongo groups.

Given its size and resources DR Congo should be a prosperous country, but years of war, corruption and economic mismanagement have left it desperately poor. In 2011 it lags far behind in many key development indicators, with average life expectancy increasing by only 2 years since 1980, after a period when it actually fell during the mid 1990s.