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DRC’s Supreme Court rejects Bemba’s election challenge: Rebel group disarms in wake of Kabila’s election

December 4, 2007

This week, the Supreme Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rejected a challenge of the recent run-off presidential elections by Jean-Pierre Bemba, citing lack of evidence of Mr. Bemba’s allegations of corruption on the part of President-elect Joseph Kabila. Earlier, supporters of Mr. Bemba protested the outcome of the election outside of the DRC Supreme Court building, ultimately setting fire to the structure.

News of the Supreme Court's announcement coincided with a statement issued by the Carter Center that claimed there were voting abuses committed by both parties even though such irregularities did not significantly benefit one candidate over the other or affect the ultimate outcome of the election—the Center is an agency that actively participated in management and oversight of the elections. The Center’s report cited voting list manipulation and unusually high voter turnout in some districts as the principle source of foul play by both parties. Despite this evidence, The Center urged all parties to remain calm.

On Friday, the BBC announced that the last of three rebel groups in the Ituri district in the eastern DRC agreed to disarm. An agreement signed by Cobra Matata, leader of the rebel FRPI, ensured that nearly five thousand men will turn in their arms and receive amnesty. The group also held an estimated 700 child soldiers who will be released as part of the agreement. The announcement was a major step in the peace and reconciliation process in a country ravished by decades of tyranny and a long and tortuous civil war.

In our previous newsletter, the IIJD laid out criterion for what we accept as free and fair elections, cautioning that any allegations or findings of voting manipulation would be a significant detriment to progress made in spreading democracy in the continent. Indeed, it is severely troubling to see these irregularities in the elections process, signaling a betrayal of the principals of democracy on the part of both candidates, irrespective of the outcome. Even though the country has been largely stabilized in the election wake, including the disarming of rebel forces, the IIJD is concerned with what this election tampering will mean for the DRC and the democratization of the continent.

Though The Carter Center may have declared Mr. Kabila’s victory as legitimate, it is saddening to see this evidence come to light given that both sides pledged a commitment to free and fair elections and the presence of an unprecedented amount of international help to enforce and monitor the democratic processes. These actions will likely cast lingering questions over Mr. Kabila’s expected term as President: what does this mean for national reconciliation? Perhaps most importantly, what might happen to the progression of democracy in the DRC and the continent? It would be in the best interests of all involved in the election to see a thorough investigation of what happened in the voting to ferret out the flaws of monitoring and enforcement of election laws in the DRC.

Additionally, as proposed by one member of the Task Force Group (TFG) for Africa development established at the 2006 International Conference on the State of Affairs of Africa (ICSAA), the IIJD believes that Mr. Kabila ought to create a power-sharing arrangement and include Mr. Bemba into his government—this is similar to how Nelson Mandela brought in his opposition, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, as Minister of Home Affairs. Such a measure will be a crucial factor in facilitating a period of national reconciliation and democratic consolidation given that both candidates’ support was concentrated along East-West geographic lines, including the Mr. Bemba’s commanding support in the capital city. Such a form of governance that is proportionate to the amount of support each candidate receives has a record of success in Sub-Saharan Africa.

With the extensive time and effort invested by UN election monitors and peacekeeping forces, the international community and the DRC have a distinct opportunity and responsibility to leave a lasting impact on the future of the country’s institutional capacity for sound governance. As established in the consensus framework generated at the 2006 ICSAA, the systems of governance supported by institutions established after colonization in many African countries are the primary root causes of the African poverty and development crisis. Democratic institutions that have clear and well-defined separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary lead to accountability and transparency in governance.

Without these mechanisms, corruption, dictatorship, and irresponsible governance reign supreme. This is especially important in a country as rich as the DRC, where for decades, the brutal, corrupt, dictatorial regime of Mobutu Sese Seko—established with the blessings of foreign actors and governments—had misappropriated and squandered the enormous amount of revenue from the country’s powerful natural resources. With sound, transparent and independent judicial and political institutions in place, the country’s wealth will be used properly and provide an opportunity for the people of the DRC to actualize their vast potential. The IIJD therefore calls on the UN, the AU, the leadership in the DRC, and all parties invested in the country to establish a democratic system of government that guarantees those in power to be accountable to the people and to the laws of the nation. It is imperative to the future of the DRC, the peace and security in the region and for the actors currently invested to ensure that democratic institutions and practices are consolidated and firmly in place before the work is deemed complete.