The Democratic Republic of Congo’s independent media regulator accused the president and several vice-presidents of allowing TV and radio stations under their control to incite intolerance and hatred before the July 30 elections.
Modeste Mutinga, president of the High Authority of the Media, urged visiting United Nations Security Council representatives on Sunday to use their influence with the DRC’s leaders and demand they immediately stop inciting hatred that could have a negative influence on the election campaign.
The vote for president and the national assembly will be the first since independence from Belgium in 1960, and it is seen as a key step toward stability in the vast country after decades of coups, war and corrupt military rule.
A United Nations peacekeeping force of about 17 000 troops that helped end the 1998-2002 war is now preparing to secure the country’s vote. Its biggest challenge will be in the east of the country, where rebel forces remain active.
Mutinga said incitement in the nation’s media was especially troubling ”in the light of the experience of Rwanda and Ivory Coast, where hate media play a big role” during years of conflict in those countries.
”If we’re not very careful, the whole campaign will assume this character of intolerance and incitation to hatred,” he warned.
Mutinga also complained that the president and vice-presidents have already begun campaigning before the official June 29 start date.
The transitional President, Joseph Kabila, and three of the country’s four Vice-Presidents, Jean-Pierre Bemba, Azarias Ruberwa and Zahidi Ngoma, are among the 33 candidates vying to be president. Kabila, Bemba and Ruberwa are considered top contenders.
Kabila exercises strong control over government media, and Bemba and Ruberwa own radio and television stations. UN officials said there are about 50 privately controlled radio and TV stations, many with political connections.
The High Authority of the Media was established as part of the country’s political transition to democracy to ensure that all viewpoints are heard and that all political parties and actors have equal access.
The election will be the first in this mineral-rich nation in the heart of Africa in 45 years. It is being organised by a transitional government that was established in 2003 following peace deals that ended the nation’s devastating 1998-2002 war, a conflict that drew in the armies from six nations.
Apollinaire Malu-Malu, the head of Congo’s electoral commission, said he shared some of Mutinga’s concerns. He said some political parties and leaders were defaming and insulting each other, heightening tensions. He also said that most political actors were ignoring the electoral law and the Constitution.
”In a word, there is a problem of intolerance and a certain lack of peace in this election,” he said.
Malu-Malu said ”the main obstacle is insecurity”, pointing to continuing conflict in eastern DRC. He also cited the difficulty of recruiting and training 350 000 electoral workers to staff about 50 000 election centres.
Ross Mountain, the UN’s resident coordinator in the DRC and the official in charge of overseeing UN assistance in the election, said he couldn’t comment on Mutinga’s observations.
”But it’s vital that they monitor the campaign, particularly because of the potential there is for hate speech to creep into the campaign, which will, of course, run the risk of stirring emotions that may go over the top,” he said.
Mutinga and Malu-Malu held separate meetings with council diplomats who stopped in Kinshasa on the final leg of a 10-day Africa trip. The visiting delegation stressed the importance of sticking to the July 30 date for the often-postponed elections and pressed for free and open voting.
Council members are scheduled to meet on Monday with Kabila and the four vice-presidents and hold a round of meetings with UN and security officials before heading back to New York in the evening.
Opposition parties planned to demonstrate in the capital on Monday to protest the date for the presidential election, but Malu-Malu told reporters ”there is no doubt — the election will take place on July 30 and we are ready for that”. ‒ Sapa-AP