|Area:||2,344,858 sq km (905,355 sq mi)|
|Population||(2006 est.): 59,320,000|
|Head of state and government:||President Joseph Kabila|
Violence in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the early months of 2006 did not augur well for the success of the multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in July, the first since 1960. There was fighting in January between dissident soldiers and members of the Congolese army in North Kivu, while 4,000 ill-disciplined troops sent to the southeastern province of Katanga to fight Mai Mai bandits proved to be as much of a threat to the local population as did the rebels. The Mai Mai had themselves originally been armed by the government to resist rebels supported by Rwanda but had soon resorted to pillaging the people they were meant to protect. In the northeastern Ituri district, efforts by the Congolese army and the 17,500-strong UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) to control the activities of hostile militias produced only mixed results. Nor were their activities helped by the threat by Uganda to send troops into the northeastern DRC, ostensibly in pursuit of rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army. In the more-settled western half of the country, the economy was run down, and the failure of Pres. Joseph Kabila’s government to make any improvement caused widespread dissatisfaction.
Nevertheless, there was a groundswell of support for a reformed system of government. The constitution was promulgated by President Kabila on Feb. 18, 2006, and shortly afterward the parliament adopted a bill authorizing the Independent Electoral Commission to organize elections. In April the European Union, which two months earlier had cooperated with the UN to launch a $681 million humanitarian plan to assist vulnerable people in the DRC, also agreed to send troops to support the MONUC force during the elections.
Prior to the election, the majority of the remaining militia fighters were persuaded to enter into an agreement with MONUC to refrain from interfering with voters. One militia group in the Ituri district, however, tried to prevent people from voting and even exchanged fire with MONUC troops, but the elections went ahead successfully. There were 33 candidates for the presidency and 9,707 hopefuls vying for 500 parliamentary seats; the leading contenders quickly sought to win votes by organizing improvements in local transport and by providing other amenities. In the event, more than 70% of registered voters cast their ballots, and observers commented favourably on the conduct of the elections.
The result of the presidential contest was announced on August 20. President Kabila, whose support came mainly from the Swahili-speaking eastern provinces, won 44.8% of the vote. His nearest rival, Vice Pres. Jean-Pierre Bemba, was victorious in the mainly Lingala-speaking Equateur and Bas-Congo provinces and in the capital, but he gained only 20% of the vote. Even before the election results were known, gunfire broke out in Kinshasa between supporters of the two candidates. The two leaders agreed with MONUC to a cease-fire, leaving the capital to be patrolled jointly by their supporters and members of the European peacekeeping force. Since neither candidate won more than 50%, a runoff election was required. On October 29, 65.36% of registered voters cast their ballots. The provisional result (subject to endorsement by the Supreme Court) gave Kabila 58.05% of the vote to Bemba’s 41.95%. Bemba challenged the result, claiming that almost 1.5 million people had voted outside the areas where they were registered, which was illegal in normal elections. He promised, however, to conduct his challenge by using the legal process.