President Joseph Kabila voted in a polling station near the Palace of the Nation yesterday as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) held its first democratic presidential and legislative elections since independence in 1960.

 

Kabila cast his ballot at around 9:00 AM (1000 GMT) in a polling station in Athene De La Gambe District as calm ruled in the capital city where a worry for violence prevailed before the elections.

 

Foreign observers to the DRC said the election is "well-organized" and the voting in order even though the turnout so far is less than expected. They believed that more people would go to polling stations after they went to church in the morning.

 

With voting process officially starting from 6:00 AM (0700 GMT), voters queued outside polling stations, eager to take their pick from 33 presidential candidates and more than 9,700 legislative candidates vying for 500 seats in the National Assembly.

 

"I care about whether the candidates can bring us security, justice, development and stability," said Morgan Kunga, a 40-year-old guard, who stood at the head of the line at the polling station nearest from the Independent Electoral Commission based in the capital of Kinshasa.

 

Kunga said investors will not dare come to the DRC if security cannot be guaranteed.

 

Bantobueji Luse Celespin, an agent of the Independent Electoral Commission, shared Kunga's view, saying that he hoped, through the elections, his country would become a country governed by law so that it would attract foreign investment and develop.

 

Sylvie Feruei, who is in her 30s and jobless, said she wanted to vote although she had no clear idea about whom to vote for.

 

"Life is too hard, I hope the elections will bring changes to it," she said.

 

Voting at No.1 ballot area, where the station was located, began about one hour later than the official start time as international observers and party representatives who watched the elections did not arrive on time, according to Pansy Tlakula, chief electoral officer from South Africa.

 

Tlakula said this was a result of lack of experience in organizing elections, but the elections were overall "well-organized."

 

According to an election official, 25.7 million voters will cast their ballot at 49,746 polling stations across the country, 8, 518 stations of which are in Kinshasa.

 

The result will be known three weeks later. If no candidate gains over half of the ballot, a second round of voting will be held.

 

Chinese soldiers of the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC clean guns at their base in Bukavu of South Kivu Province July 29, 2006.

 

Twenty blue helmets, with one armored vehicle, were deployed at this polling station, as part of the 17,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in the DRC, the world body's biggest mission.

 

The eastern part of Kinshasa, where the opposition enjoys mass support, has remained calm and reported no violence, said a UN officer.

 

(China Daily July 31, 2006)