UN calls for calm on eve of Congo vote

Republic of Congo (DRC), following deadly clashes in the capital, Kinshasa.
Ban warned the government yesterday that it has “primary responsibility” for maintaining peace in the giant minerals-producing nation.

“I call on all political leaders and the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to exercise restraint throughout the process to ensure that the elections are held in a peaceful and secure environment,” Ban said in a statement.
Three people were killed in campaign-linked violence on Saturday.

The government cancelled final rallies by opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi and incumbent President Joseph Kabila, citing fears of violence.
Police had stopped opposition leader Tshisekedi and his entourage from leaving Kinshasa’s N’djili airport on Saturday after his party said it would defy the ban on political rallies imposed earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, Tshisekedi called for the UN Secretary General to remove the head of the UN’s 20 000-strong peacekeeping mission and replace American Roger Meece with someone “more impartial and competent”.
In a second attempt to ignore the political ban, Tshisekedi called on supporters to attend a rally in Kinshasa yesterday.

“He wants to hold a rally at the Stade des Martyrs (the city’s largest stadium) to make up for lost time,” Serge Mayamba, national secretary of Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), told the AFP news agency.

The run-up to DR Congo’s second election since the 1998-2003 war has been marred by opposition allegations of irregularities and concerns about inadequate preparations.

The UN secretary-general appealed to all sides to stick to the constitution and election laws. Ban called on the rival parties to “promote democratic debate; to respect the results of the ballots; and to address any disputes that may arise, through the established mediation and legal channels”.
Under constitutional amendments signed off by Kabila this year, the presidential vote will be decided in a single round, meaning the winner can claim victory with a simple majority.

Analysts say that favours Kabila against the split opposition. Despite a logistics operation supported by helicopters from South Africa and Angola, some observers doubt whether all ballot slips will reach the 60 000 voting stations by today, in a country two-thirds the size of the European Union.

“We would like to assure you 99 per cent of things are working perfectly, that’s our commitment to you,” Daniel Ngoy Mulunda, electoral commission chief, said yesterday. – www.aljazeera.com.