The Republic of Congo heads into a second round of voting on Sunday, but many there are wary of electoral chaos and the fact that their lives aren’t improving much, despite their country pumping out billions of Âdollars from oil every year. The remaining 84 seats in Congo’s 137-seat Parliament will be fought over after a first round of voting in late June gave President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s Congolese Labour Party a huge victory and a further stranglehold on his rule.
Failed state. Coup-prone. Basket case. Guinea-Bissau now has another description: it is fast becoming Africa’s cocaine capital. It is a key storage and transportation hub in the onward journey of the white powder to new markets in South Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Law enforcement is minimal and corruption acute.
The police ambush was a success, but only just. Fuel for the police vehicles to get to the location outside of town was hard to come by. Then the first car sped through the roadblock, as some officers were busy picking mangoes. After the fourth was caught, some of the cocaine was pocketed before it could be destroyed.
No image available
/ 29 November 2006
A pledge by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) defeated presidential candidate to enter the opposition peacefully came as a relief to many on Wednesday, but concerns lingered that President Joseph Kabila may deny his party a meaningful role. Fears of a violent backlash were allayed on Tuesday.
No image available
/ 23 November 2006
Around 50 soldiers loyal to Congolese former rebel chief Jean-Pierre Bemba were withdrawn from Kinshasa on Thursday after President Joseph Kabila gave an ultimatum for Bemba’s forces to be removed from the city. Diplomats intensified efforts to head off another confrontation between soldiers and supporters of the two rivals, who faced off in a historic presidential run-off vote.
No image available
/ 15 November 2006
Provisional results published on Wednesday from Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) historic presidential election gave President Joseph Kabila 58% of votes, against 42% for his rival Jean-Pierre Bemba, with all votes counted. DRC’s Independent Electoral Commission has said it must deal with challenges to the figures before declaring a winner.
No image available
/ 29 October 2006
Police killed two rioters in poll violence on Sunday as the Democratic Republic of Congo voted in a presidential run-off intended to end decades of war and pillage that have left the country devastated despite its mineral riches. The governor of the northerly Equateur province, Yves Mobando, told Reuters: ”Two people were killed when the police opened fire to disperse the crowds.”
No image available
/ 28 October 2006
Whoever wins the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential run-off on Sunday will take charge one of the most mineral-rich countries in Africa but also inherit a volatile cocktail of insecurity and social collapse. The victor faces the daunting challenge of restoring basic social services and reining in thousands of gunmen still outside the government’s control.
Gunbattles shook the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa for a third day on Tuesday as the United Nations and foreign leaders pressed President Joseph Kabila and an election rival to halt fighting between their feuding forces.
Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s guards fought gun battles with forces loyal to election challenger Jean-Pierre Bemba in the capital Kinshasa on Sunday, as poll results showed the two would have to enter a run-off. Kabila, with 44,81%, and Bemba with 20,03% of votes from the historic July 30 election, will face each other in a second round.