Hello from Kampala!
It's a cool morning (nearly noon, actually) and it's good to catch up a bit on what's going on in the DR Congo.
It's hard to be here right now... Part of me wants to give up the hot shower, almost constant electricity and access to restaurants... But I can't. We're still waiting to hear the results of the election (on the 6th), and the response of the people after that.
So for now, I'm just going to have to enjoy our grocery store, and other things Chelsie and I don't often experience in Congo! :)
Our friends in Beni and other areas of the country told us that things went well. Except for some *significant* problems in large cities, things passed well on Monday... And Tuesday... And I read today that there was even voting continuing in Kinshasa yesterday.
Classes were canceled at UCBC on Monday, for the election. But they resumed again on Tuesday and things are back to normal there once again.
As one dear friend in Beni told me this morning - "Our prayer is that the Lord will choose the person that He sees prepared to lead the destiny of the nation." Amen. Let's hope so.
Here are a few articles, to check out for updates on the elections in the Congo, the vote, etc.
IOL - Chaos in DR Congo poll
AFP - Observers call for patience in DR Congo vote
NY Times - Notes from a Young American in Congo
Congo Planet - Observers Hail Successful DR Congo Elections
The Guardian - DR Congo opposition candidate calls for election to be annulled
The Atlantic - In Congo Elections, More Than Just Democracy at Stake
And websites / blogs with more information as well:
http://texasinafrica.blogspot.com/
http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/
CENI - Congo's Electoral Commission
Continue to remember the Congo and to pray for the people.
Showing posts with label voters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label voters. Show all posts
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Election Day
Today. November 28th, 2011.
Congolese are going to the voting polls in their communities to vote for the leaders they hope to see in office.
We don't know how this will happen.
People are anxious. Nervous.
What will happen?
And when results are announced, on December 6th, what will happen?
This is Jason Stearns' blog again, with a gut-wrenching post from last night, quoted in part:
Our friends in Beni who told us that many people found their names to be missing from the lists at the centers where they registered to vote, have said there is a change... Noé just texted me that CENI (the Congolese electoral commission) is allowing the people to vote but they have to put their names on a list or something... We're not sure what that means / if their votes will be counted. But we'll see.
Below are a few news articles for you to read... To be more aware of what is being said in the area as voters are going to the polls (if the polls are still there, which is one thing we're hearing from Beni - some of the polls aren't there anymore).
BBC News - DR Congo votes amid fears of violence
Al Jazeera - DR Congo votes
VOA - Electoral Commission Says DR Congo '99% Ready'
Congo Planet - Congolese start voting in landmark elections
BBC News - Profiles of Kabila, Tshisekedi and Kamerhe
Al Jazeera News: What elections mean to us
Please do keep praying for Congo today... And these coming weeks as we wait for the results to be published.
The voting stations or polls opened early this morning, and will supposedly stay open until the voters have finished. I don't know what that means exactly but today will be a long day for many!
Please pray for our students, teachers, staff, friends and family in the DR Congo. And that this process will make the way to a new future for the country.
Congolese are going to the voting polls in their communities to vote for the leaders they hope to see in office.
We don't know how this will happen.
People are anxious. Nervous.
What will happen?
And when results are announced, on December 6th, what will happen?
This is Jason Stearns' blog again, with a gut-wrenching post from last night, quoted in part:
Accusations of election irregularities have proliferated over the past days - first, observers noticed that hundreds of polling stations either didn't exist or had been planned without informing the locales. Then, hundreds of thousands of voters in Ituri and Idjwi (South Kivu) discovered that their names were not on the list of voters. Finally, numberous accusations have emerged of ballot having been found with Kabila's name already checked.Argh. The part about the ballots with Kabila's name already checked make me feel so sick to my stomach...
Our friends in Beni who told us that many people found their names to be missing from the lists at the centers where they registered to vote, have said there is a change... Noé just texted me that CENI (the Congolese electoral commission) is allowing the people to vote but they have to put their names on a list or something... We're not sure what that means / if their votes will be counted. But we'll see.
Below are a few news articles for you to read... To be more aware of what is being said in the area as voters are going to the polls (if the polls are still there, which is one thing we're hearing from Beni - some of the polls aren't there anymore).
BBC News - DR Congo votes amid fears of violence
Al Jazeera - DR Congo votes
VOA - Electoral Commission Says DR Congo '99% Ready'
Congo Planet - Congolese start voting in landmark elections
BBC News - Profiles of Kabila, Tshisekedi and Kamerhe
Al Jazeera News: What elections mean to us
Please do keep praying for Congo today... And these coming weeks as we wait for the results to be published.
The voting stations or polls opened early this morning, and will supposedly stay open until the voters have finished. I don't know what that means exactly but today will be a long day for many!
Please pray for our students, teachers, staff, friends and family in the DR Congo. And that this process will make the way to a new future for the country.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
DRC elections numbers
The 28 November DRC elections in numbers:
Sources: CENI, MONUSCO, Carter Center, media
via Desiree Lwambo https://www.facebook.com/zwanck
4 November 2011
- 0: No female presidential candidate
- 11: The number of presidential candidates
- 37: The average number of candidates competing for one legislative seat
- 56: The number of pages each ballot has due to the large number of parliamentary candidates
- 147: The number of political parties in the DRC
- 500: The number of parliamentary seats being contested
- 62,500: Estimated number of polling stations across the country
- 32,500,000: The number of registered voters
- 64,000,000: The number of ballots printed in South Africa
Sources: CENI, MONUSCO, Carter Center, media
via Desiree Lwambo https://www.facebook.com/zwanck
4 November 2011
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