![[Congo] President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo.<br><br>Le Chef de l'Etat congolais, Denis Sassou Nguesso, attendant le premier ministre chinois, M. Wen Jiabao. [Date picture taken: 07/23/2006]](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/20068156.jpg.webp?itok=BG8BjErx "President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo")
Barely two weeks before presidential elections in the Republic of Congo, Marcel Kombo decided to send his wife and children away from Brazzaville.
"When you listen to the politicians talking, you’ve got to be prudent," said Kombo, a secondary school teacher in the capital. The poll is due on 12 July.
"Their language is a bit violent and they don’t give one confidence. I have decided to send my family - my wife, three children and a nephew - to the village so they are safe if fighting breaks out," he added.
Civil conflict broke out in Congo in 1993 and 1997, both election years. In the latter case, full-scale conflict erupted just before a second round of a presidential election was due to be held. It pitted troops of then-president Pascal Lissouba against fighters loyal to his predecessor, Denis Sassou Nguesso, who went on to take back the presidency by force, a position he consolidated with an election victory in 2002, when violence once again flared up, especially in the southern Pool region. Lissouba and another political rival, Bernard Kolelas, were prevented from running in that poll.
Remnants of rebels known as Ninjas are still present in the Pool region, although there have been renewed disarmament efforts recently and despite the transformation of the group into a political party.
"People have not forgotten that elections have led to certain conflicts in the past," Henri Okemba, a former minister, explained. However, he thought the political class had sufficiently matured to avoid a civil war.
Marguerite Kongo, a vendor at Bouemba market, said she had put some cash aside in case the situation deteriorated. "With our politicians anything can happen; they want power so much that they could unleash war on the country again," she said. "When you hear people saying in the media that no one has a monopoly on violence, you get worried and take action."
Service breakdowns
Maixent Hanimbat, chairman of the Forum for Governance and Human Rights (FGDH), said Congo’s socio-economic context was an important factor.
"Simmering discontent" was noticeable in the city, with frequent breakdowns in essential services such as water, healthcare and electricity, and discontent could lead to civil war when the election results are announced, he warned.
The socio-economic situation is precarious, with salaries unable to cover basic costs, he added. Education and health facilities are inadequate and unemployment is high - despite significant revenue from oil and timber.
Two supposedly "moderate" opposition candidates on 22 June threatened to withdraw from the elections in protest at the late publication of electoral lists.
They also claimed that the composition of the electorate and the number of polling stations was still not known by 26 June, and disputed the impartiality of the electoral commission.
Parliamentary elections in 2007 and local elections in 2008, organized by the same electoral commission, were marred by fraud, according to observers from the African Union observers and the Coordination d’appui au processus électoral, a Congolese civil society body comprising more than 20 NGOs.
On 22 June, Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba, who is also vice-president of the National Security Council (CNS), sought to reassure people that adequate security measures were in place.
The CNS was deploying 17,000 security staff to protect polling stations and election rallies, as well as the candidates, including incumbent President Dennis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled twice, from 1979 to 1992 and from 1997 to date. In March 2002, he won elections with 89.41 percent of votes cast.
ai/cb/eo/mw
"When you listen to the politicians talking, you’ve got to be prudent," said Kombo, a secondary school teacher in the capital. The poll is due on 12 July.
"Their language is a bit violent and they don’t give one confidence. I have decided to send my family - my wife, three children and a nephew - to the village so they are safe if fighting breaks out," he added.
Civil conflict broke out in Congo in 1993 and 1997, both election years. In the latter case, full-scale conflict erupted just before a second round of a presidential election was due to be held. It pitted troops of then-president Pascal Lissouba against fighters loyal to his predecessor, Denis Sassou Nguesso, who went on to take back the presidency by force, a position he consolidated with an election victory in 2002, when violence once again flared up, especially in the southern Pool region. Lissouba and another political rival, Bernard Kolelas, were prevented from running in that poll.
Remnants of rebels known as Ninjas are still present in the Pool region, although there have been renewed disarmament efforts recently and despite the transformation of the group into a political party.
"People have not forgotten that elections have led to certain conflicts in the past," Henri Okemba, a former minister, explained. However, he thought the political class had sufficiently matured to avoid a civil war.
Marguerite Kongo, a vendor at Bouemba market, said she had put some cash aside in case the situation deteriorated. "With our politicians anything can happen; they want power so much that they could unleash war on the country again," she said. "When you hear people saying in the media that no one has a monopoly on violence, you get worried and take action."
Photo: Andrew Itoua/IRIN  |
| A campaign poster in Brazzaville |
Maixent Hanimbat, chairman of the Forum for Governance and Human Rights (FGDH), said Congo’s socio-economic context was an important factor.
"Simmering discontent" was noticeable in the city, with frequent breakdowns in essential services such as water, healthcare and electricity, and discontent could lead to civil war when the election results are announced, he warned.
The socio-economic situation is precarious, with salaries unable to cover basic costs, he added. Education and health facilities are inadequate and unemployment is high - despite significant revenue from oil and timber.
Two supposedly "moderate" opposition candidates on 22 June threatened to withdraw from the elections in protest at the late publication of electoral lists.
They also claimed that the composition of the electorate and the number of polling stations was still not known by 26 June, and disputed the impartiality of the electoral commission.
Parliamentary elections in 2007 and local elections in 2008, organized by the same electoral commission, were marred by fraud, according to observers from the African Union observers and the Coordination d’appui au processus électoral, a Congolese civil society body comprising more than 20 NGOs.
On 22 June, Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba, who is also vice-president of the National Security Council (CNS), sought to reassure people that adequate security measures were in place.
The CNS was deploying 17,000 security staff to protect polling stations and election rallies, as well as the candidates, including incumbent President Dennis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled twice, from 1979 to 1992 and from 1997 to date. In March 2002, he won elections with 89.41 percent of votes cast.
ai/cb/eo/mw
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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