'GOP' election fever

I apologize to those of you who came here expecting something on the upcoming US primaries. Indeed 'GOP' (Grand Old Party) is a nick for our dear fellows of the Republican Party. If you wish to read about those I recommend keeping an eye on this all-American blog. My post here will be about a more recent display of election fever: the election of a 'Good Old President' in Congo-Kinshasa. Tomorrow, monday October 28, the Congolese people will elect a new president. Or they can of course extend the mandate of the incumbent one. Not many people are familiar with Congolese politics, so first up is an overview of the main candidates:

Joseph Kabila is the incumbent president of the Democratic Republic Congo. He holds the office for the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy. Kabila has a considerable support base with the urban population, who profited from his policies. The president, however, has a lot of opponents too. And not without reason as you might expect. Congo still has trouble in strengthening its democratic institutions and obtaining a positive economic outlook. Did you know that Congo has the highest rate of extreme hunger while, at the same time, it holds the second highest agricultural potential? Until 2010, Congo didn't even have an agricultural policy!

Joseph Kabila of the social-democratic PPRD. Incumbent president of the Congo DR.

Main opponent of president Kabila is Étienne Tshisekedi of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress. Tsishekedi has some very militant supporters who feel that the current regime did not carry out its promises. Supporters who already announced not to stand idle if Kabila succeeds himself. A major issue for victory over Kabila is that the elections consist of just one round. This might strengthen the position of Tshisekedi as most likely of all opposing candidates, due to strategic voters. Though it is more likely that the opposition will be divided and that not a single candidate will gain enough votes to trump Kabila.

Étienne Tshisekedi of the liberal-conservative UDPS

Tshisekedi has been a 'constructive opposer' in former political settings. He even made it to Prime Minister on some brief occasions. Despite his liberal and conservative views he is my personal favorite. He has a sense for realism and wants to tackle issues of corruption. I thus named my post after this 'Good Old Premmy'. Other interesting candidates are the also very popular Vital Kamerhe of the Union for a Congolese Nation and the more radical François Joseph Mobutu of the Union of Mobutuist Democracts. Both of these candidates promote Congolese unity, though with very different accents.

As you might have noticed 'construction' and 'progress' are buzzwords. All parties have inspiring names, but their capacities are all too often overrated. That is why I set my hopes on the reasonable voice of Tshisekedi. Soon enough we will get an idea of what the Congolese future looks like. Even more important than a capable candidate to win is for all losing candidates to accept their defeat, and not resort to violence. The drama we saw in the capital Kinshasa the past two days is a shame. Unfortunately, Tshisekedi too negated the prohibition on gathering earlier today. I hope this was just a stunt in his campaign and not a prelude to actual destabilization.