Anxiety as Congo elections draw closer
BRAZZAVILLE (Congo) – Barely two weeks before presidential elections in the Republic of Congo, Mr Marcel Kombo has decided to send his wife and children away from Brazzaville.
“When you listen to the politicians talking, you’ve got to be prudent,” said Mr Kombo, a secondary school teacher in the capital. The poll is due on July 12.
“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.
Rebel activity
With a past marred by army mutinies, rebellions, coups and attempted coups, Congo has been in the throes of a humanitarian crisis for more than a decade. Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, especially in the north of the country, where rebel activity is ongoing.
Two supposedly “moderate” opposition candidates on June 22 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 June 26 and disputed the impartiality of the electoral commission.
On June 22, 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.
- IRIN