No less than the leadership of the Catholic church has called on Congolese citizens to resist final passage of the legislation by all possible legal and peaceful means. Students have taken to the streets. As has the political opposition. Public protests quickly extended to the east of the country. And the state pushed back, violently. By Friday, one human-rights organisation had placed the death toll at 35. The state responded angrily, stating “only” a dozen protesters had been killed. It is hard to know one way or another if one is not in Kinshasa. The Internet was shut down for two days — it is now reportedly back. But short message services remain off. On Friday afternoon, in a victory for the protestors, the Senate passed the law with a modified version of Article 8 removing the requirement for a census. A bicameral committee will now seek to reconcile the two chambers’ Bills before a final vote. Other states are teetering on the edge of conflict with their elections but remain amenable to being pulled back from the brink. Burundi, for example, which looked set for violence as a result of the activities of the ruling political party’s youth wing last year, has been closely monitored and responded to by the African Union. The situation remains fragile, however. One is grateful for the ever-more apparent interventions by the AU and regional blocs in pulling recalcitrant states back from the brink. One wonders why, however, these states went to the brink in the first place. theeastafrican.co.ke/OpEd/comment/Electoral-tricks-no-treat-for-angry-Congolese-voters-/-/434750/2600730/-/2u788i/-/index.html
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 19:06:14 +0000
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