Remarks Delivered at Embassy's Bi-weekly Press Briefing

By: James F. Entwistle | Published: December 1, 2011

[AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY]

Let me begin with a few remarks about Monday’s elections.

First, I would like to congratulate the Congolese people on holding their second democratic elections in the post-Mobutu period.  I was pleased to see so many people get out to exercise their right to vote, and in a country that presents such immense logistical challenges and has seen such strife in the past two decades, the efforts of election workers and the calm demonstrated by so many voters are a testament to the Congolese people’s determination to move this young democracy forward.

Congolese have come a long way since 2006, when the international community was the prime organizer of the elections.  We in the United States were of course ready to partner with the Congolese people to support these efforts, but this election was organized by the Congolese for the Congolese, and of that I am very impressed.

On the conduct of the elections themselves, I think it is very important that we rely on a systematic evaluation of the process, as conducted by trained observers.  Such evaluations are important because they are based not on individual experiences in one city or quarter but on an analysis of how events played out across this vast country.  As part of our ongoing effort to assist Congo’s electoral process, we supported the training of thousands of Congolese observers, and I was pleased to see many local observers and party witnesses out on polling day fulfilling their responsibilities to bolster the transparency of the process.

Initial reactions from Congolese and international observer groups are now beginning to come out.  I note that La Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO), for example, in characterizing what it had heard from about 1,500 of its 30,000 observers, said that “A certains endroits, ces elections se sont déroulées normalement tandis qu’a d’autres, l’on signale des irregularities et des incidents malheureux.”  The African Union welcomed the “successful holding of the elections” despite the numerous technical and logistical difficulties they noted.   Moreover, The Carter Center, a well-respected international observation mission with experience here in 2006 and in dozens of other countries, noted that on election day “voters participated in large numbers with few major incidents that disrupted the peaceful conduct of the polls.”

It is too early to make overall judgments about the process, but I see these initial assessments as generally in line with what I saw personally in visiting polling places in Kinshasa on Monday, and what U.S. government observer teams saw in every province of the DRC: that while there were substantial delays and logistical problems, the vast majority of Congolese who wished to vote were able to do so.

Regrettably, there were some significant exceptions to the trend I and others observed.  Violent incidents in a number of locations disrupted voting and there have been reports of armed groups intimidating voters in certain locations in the east of the country.

There have also been numerous reports of irregularities from voter list discrepancies to ballot shortages.   We recognize that no election is conducted perfectly – the United States struggles, as do all nations, with a task of this complexity – but irregularities undermine the transparency of the process.  I was pleased to see that many observers and party witnesses fulfilled their duty and alerted authorities to suspicious activities, and I urge the relevant authorities to investigate those allegations. 

Let me conclude by saying that we are still a number of days away from the announcement of official results.  It is important to wait for that announcement – the decision of the people, as expressed at the ballot box – to respect the will of the people in electing their next leader.  In the case of disputes, the DRC has clear procedures in place which we would encourage all parties and candidates to follow.   I am pleased that several candidates have stated publicly that they will accept the results of credibly run elections.  I call again for all of the candidates to do the same and to pledge themselves – and urge their supporters – to complete this democratic exercise peacefully.