It certainly won’t be pretty. But nothing about the chaotic political life of the Democratic Republic of Congo ever has been.
Nevertheless, the 25-million voters of this Central African giant are expected to deliver a resounding ”yes” in Sunday’s constitutional referendum.
The mood in Kinshasa is more one of relief than anticipation. This country has been in transition for 19 years. Congolese have been lied to by Mobutu Sese Seko and Laurent Kabila, who made repeated promises of elections.
Two devastating wars have left 3,5-million dead, sucking in most neighbouring countries.
It is hoped therefore that this final lap on terms agreed in Pretoria in 2002 will take the Congolese out of limbo.
Adoption of the constitution in the first free vote in more than four decades will put the country on the path to presidential, parliamentary and local elections set for next year.
President Joseph Kabila and his four vice-presidents in the transitional government say there’s no sensible alternative to voting in favour of the constitution.
Anything else would put the country back on the treadmill that will take it past the June 2006 deadline for ending the transitional phase.
The draft constitution is based on a mish-mash of South African and European political models. The international community is picking up 90% of the $450-million tab for the electoral process.
The ”no” minority attributes its scepticism about the new basic law to its alien roots and suggests that rejecting it will get rid of the un-elected transitional incumbents and their secret agendas.
The best estimate of the number of voters who have actually laid eyes on the complex document is 10%.
Voter identification and registration went remarkably well in most parts of the country.
International observers have been warned not to set their sights too high — and to keep their heads down in the troubled eastern sections of the country.
The 13 000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force has deployed extra numbers to this area where the war has never quite ended. So observers should not expect to find a voters’ roll in this region.