Peaceful Elections

The Friends of the Congo observation delegation in Kinshasa reported that the voting in Kinshasa was peaceful as it was in much of the country. The main disturbances took place in the Kasai province where supporters of Etienne Tshisekedi boycotted the elections and prevented voters from going to the polls. Tshisekedi's supporters set ablaze trucks carrying ballots as well as polling stations. The Independent Electoral Commission had to extend voting to a second day in Kasai because of the disruptions on Sunday.

The results from the elections will not be finalized for three weeks. Although, preliminary results may be released in days. Should there be a second round, the Electoral Commission has announced that it will take place on October 29, 2006.

Members of the opposition maintain their position that there were a lot of irregularities and let it be known that should Kabila win in the first round, the country will become ungovernable. There is still a strong belief that Western governments and corporations strongly back Kabila.