2011 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election

Candidates

1. Jean Andeka (ANCC)
2. Adam Bombolé (independent)
3. Joseph Kabila (independent)
4. François Nicéphore Kakese (URDC)
5. Vital Kamerhe (UNC)
6. Oscar Kashala (UREC)
7. Léon Kengo (UFC)
8. Antipas Mbusa (independent)
9. Nzanga Mobutu (Udemo)
10. Josué Alex Mukendi (independent)
11. Étienne Tshisekedi (UDPS)

Registration

DR Congo's National Independent Electoral Commission has registered 32 million voters for the November elections.

Results

President

The first results released on 2 December 2011, with 15% of the vote counted (mostly in areas considered Kabila strongholds), gave Kabila only a narrow lead of 940,000 votes against 912,000 votes for UPDS leader Tshisekedi.

With half the precincts counted, Kabila was leading with 4.9 million votes, or nearly 49%. His opponent Etienne Tshisekedi was trailing with 3.4 million votes, about 34%. However, this count did not include much of Kinshasa, where Tshisekedi was expected to have strong results. Kabila ceased all email and SMS services nationwide. It has been also said that over 5,000,000 of ballot papers were pre-ticked for the number 3 candidate (Kabila), but no formal actions were taken by the CENI. Some witnesses said that young men had beaten election officials who tried to bring in fraudulent ballots, which were subsequently burned.

The announcement of final results was postponed to 8 December 2011; with over two thirds of the vote counted, Kabila led with 46% to Tshisekedi's 36%.

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Kabila as the winner on December 9. The result was put into question by the Carter Center as well as the archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, claiming too many irregularities occurred to assure that the results reflected the will of the people. The Carter Center indicated that ballots had been missing in some areas while in others Kabila achieved unrealistic results. Observers from the Carter Center noted that in some districts voter turnout was reported to be 100 percent, which is extremely unlikely.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/congos-incumbent-president-denies-allegations-of-election-fraud-in-1st-postelection-comments/2011/12/12/gIQAiiUSpO_story.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111214173108/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/congos-incumbent-president-denies-allegations-of-election-fraud-in-1st-postelection-comments/2011/12/12/gIQAiiUSpO_story.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=2011-12-14| agency=Associated Press| title=Criticism grows over Congo election results| newspaper=The Washington Post| date=2011-12-12| accessdate=2011-12-16}} MONUSCO, the peacekeeping mission of the United Nations, also voiced concern about the results.

While Kabila admitted that some mistakes had been made in the process, he rejected concerns about the outcome. The result was confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16228315| title=DR Congo election: Joseph Kabila confirmed as winner| publisher=BBC News Africa| date=2012-12-16| accessdate=2012-12-16}}

Jerome Kitoko, President of the Supreme Court, announcing the official results proclaimed Kabila to be the winner of the presidential election.{{cite news| url=http://www.congoplanet.com/news/1929/dr-congo-supreme-court-rules-joseph-kabila-winner-of-presidential-election.jsp|author=Congo News Agency|title=Supreme Court Rules Joseph Kabila Won Presidential Election|publisher=Congo Planet|date=2011-12-16|accessdate=2011-12-17}}

National Assembly

Aftermath

The rebels in the 2012 East D.R. Congo conflict said Kabila was not the legal winner of the election and must resign.

Notes

References

References

1. Kavanagh, Michael J.. (30 April 2011). "Congo Electoral Commission Says Presidential Elections to Be Held Nov. 28". Bloomberg.
2. "DR Congo to hold presidential elections on Nov. 27, 2011 - People's Daily Online".
3. (2011-01-10). "DR Congo opposition anger over electoral changes". BBC News.
4. "DR Congo's Electoral Law for 2011: Choosing Continuity - International Crisis Group".
5. "The Critical Role of Observers".
6. "Congo: The Electoral Process Seen from the East - International Crisis Group".
7. (2011-11-08). "Congolese candidate Tshisekedi declares himself president". Christian Science Monitor.
8. (28 November 2011). "Voting chaos and pockets of violence mar DRC elections".
9. Rukmini Callimachi. (2011-11-29). "Congo Elections 2011: Vote Extended To Second Day". Huffington Post.
10. (2011-12-02). "DR Congo election: Kabila guards 'shot UDPS supporters'". BBC News.
11. [https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/1779206 Dread permeates Congo ahead of election results]
12. (November 29, 2011). "In Whirlwind of an Election in Congo, Votes May Become Victims, Too". The New York Times.
13. (2011-12-07). "DR Congo election results delayed by 48 hours". BBC News.
14. Adam Nossiter. (December 12, 2011). "Congo President Kabila Denies Reports of Election Fraud". [[The New York Times]].