Elections Unlikely to Quell Violence

July 2006 | Political Risk Analysis

Regular demonstrations against the up-coming polls in the DRC, which have been marked by clashes amongst the protestors and the security forces, do not bode well for the likelihood of successful elections. Both the influential Roman Catholic Church and one of the main opposition parties, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) have called on voters to abstain from voting. The UDPS has complained that the system is unfair and wants voter registration extended to enable its supporters to enrol, the deadline for which it missed after calling for a boycott of the elections last year. Moreover there are concerns of fraud which relate to the printing of an excess of 5mn voter ballot papers and missing voter registration details. At the same time, more than half of the 33 candidates running for the presidency have called for a boycott.

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