DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Congo tense as Jean-Pierre Bemba vows to contest President Joseph Kabila win

U.N. and European peacekeepers deployed in force to deter violence in Congo's capital on Thursday (November 16) after President Joseph Kabila was declared winner of a historic election in a result disputed by his rival. The international security clampdown was aimed at deterring any recurrence of the street fighting between soldiers and supporters of Bemba and Kabila which shook Kinshasa last weekend and in August. Congo's electoral commission late on Wednesday (November 15) announced incumbent President Kabila had won the October 29 presidential run-off, taking 05 percent of the votes against 41.95 percent for his rival Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba. U.N. officials, part of the world's biggest peacekeeping force deployed in the vast, former Belgian colony, hailed the vote and its result a major milestone in Congo's bid to leave behind years of war, dictatorship and chaos. Although the Supreme Court must still confirm the result, Bemba's campaign coalition has rejected it after alleging "systematic cheating" in vote counting. Speaking on state television after the result was announced Kabila appealed for calm. "Whilst waiting for the proclamation of the final results by the Supreme Court of Justice, I invite you all to be calm and orderly, to show the world that the Democratic Republic of Congo is a state irreversibly on the road to the democratisation of its institutions. The forces of order will continue to ensure the security of the people and their well-being," said Kabila. The historic October 29 vote was the culmination of a peace process to end Congo's 1998-2003 war in which Bemba led a rebel faction before joining a power-sharing government. Soldiers loyal to the two candidates fought days of street battles in August which killed at least 30 people after the first round results were announced. Four more were killed last Saturday (November 11) when the two sides clashed once again. Morning papers headlined that Kabila's victory and the impending Supreme Court decision. Strong Bemba support in Kinshasa means a large part of the capital's population is unhappy with the results. "The results that the CEI (Independent Electoral Commission) just gave us are not the results we are expecting. Do they want the people to revolt, or what? We ask the Supreme Court to deal with this problem sincerely and truthfully," said Kinshasa resident Pyus Matemba. Congolese former rebel warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba vowed on Thursday to challenge "by all legal means" a presidential election result giving victory to his rival, incumbent President Joseph Kabila. Pockets of supporters of the defeated Bemba turned out in some parts of Kinshasa on Thursday to express anger at the result. Outside Bemba's official residence on a main boulevard, a small but angry group of young supporters hurled stones at cars. Congolese riot police moved in quickly to arrest some of them while U.N. troops backed them up. Other protesters barricaded a road outside a pro-Bemba TV station. Vice-President Bemba, who led a rebel group in Congo's 1998-2003 war, rejected the provisional result announced by electoral officials as some of his youthful supporters stoned police and cars in the riverside capital Kinshasa. In a statement broadcast by a TV station he controls, Bemba rejected an announcement by the electoral commission late on Wednesday which gave Kabila victory with 58.05 percent of the votes against 41.95 percent for Bemba. "I regret to have to say to our people and the international community that I cannot accept these results which are far from reflecting the truth of the ballot box. I promise to use all legal means to ensure the will of our people is respected. I can't end this message without sincerely thanking the Congolese people for trusting me and I assure them of my strict determination never to betray them," he said. Bemba said the electoral commission had not replied adequately to his complaints. As Bemba's aides prepared a strategy to challenge the result, foreign governments and leaders urged all sides in the war-scarred country to accept the polls outcome peacefully. A western diplomat, who asked not to be named, said Bemba had told the U.N. and Congo's army that he was not going to attempt military action. Bemba now has three days in which to take his complaint to the Supreme Court. U.N. soldiers from the world's biggest peacekeeping force took up positions in Kinshasa on Thursday to avoid a repeat of past deadly gunbattles between Bemba's and Kabila's supporters. After Bemba's statement, Kinshasa's streets were largely deserted as shops closed early and people rushed home. U.N. officials and foreign governments hailed last month's vote as a major milestone in Congo's bid to build a new era of stability and prosperity following the end of the war. Congo's war spawned a humanitarian crisis that has killed 4 million people. Aid workers estimate 1,200 still die daily from violence, hunger and disease. The first free elections in 40 years were meant to crown the peace process. Congo's war spawned a humanitarian crisis that has killed 4 million people and aid workers estimate 1,200 still die daily.

ITN Source | November 17, 2006

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