Amy ErnstVoters waited to cast their ballots in rural Congo on November 28, 2011."There is no government in Congo," Maman Marie Nzoli, director of the local non-profit organization COPERMA, said over a year ago.
"[Joseph] Kabila's government is a government that doesn't exist."
This statement merely expressed a sentiment common among Congolese people. However, the Presidential elections that took place on November 28th showed that voting in a country like the Democratic Republic of Congo isn't as simple as choosing a candidate who promises progress or change in a desired direction. For many Congolese, the decision comes down to risk assessment.
"People want to vote in a way that won't escalate into another full scale civil war," explained psychologist Jean-Paul Syatokaki. "Regardless of whose politics they actually support."
Many Congolese people desire progress, but a population that has suffered over 6 million deaths in the last decade knows well that change in Congo means devastating risk. In cities like Butembo, where violence has generally diminished in the past few years, avoiding it remains the priority.
"It's much better than it was before," explained Paluku Hangie as his reason for supporting Kabila. "I would spend days under my bed because of the shooting. Now you don't hear any bullets."
Congo, however, is a vast and extremely diverse country in terms of tribal culture, quality of life, education, and violence. In areas still affected by violence at the hands of governmental and/or rebel forces, Kabila is a symbol of failure.
Amy ErnstIn Congo, an "agent electoral" showed Maman Marie Nzoli, a local activist, how to vote."During my life, I can see when there is peace and when there isn't," said a young restaurant worker who wished to remain anonymous. "When people are raping and killing old women, that isn't peace. How can you support the person in charge when that is happening?"
Rural voting also illustrates several other intricacies of instituting democracy in a third world country. Three middle-aged women in a village near Butembo all avidly said they would vote for Mbusa Nyamwisi, one of Kabila's opponents. The primary campaign mechanism in Congo is the distribution of flyers and business cards with the candidate's image, name, and candidacy number. Political histories, platforms, and objectives have extremely limited reach.
"Here we have a problem of media," said Syatokaki. "Campaigns in [the United States] are connected to the media, the television and radio. But here it's mouth to ear."
The women, along with many other Nande people, chose to vote for Nyamwisi because he is ethnically a member of their tribe.
No matter whom a voter chooses there are still doubts that election results will be respected. "It's already arranged," Syatokaki added. "[The election] is a teatre and the real players are behind the scenes."
As the elections approached, there was talk of ballots being pre-marked for Kabila, phantom voting centers that would churn out false votes, and even pens distributed by the United Nations Mission in Congo with disappearing ink. Rumors are impossible to distinguish from fact, but many Congolese are fully convinced there are games being played behind the scenes.
Kabila himself showed an overt disinterest in the will of the people by changing the two-part elections to a single round of voting. Kabila's tagline, Na Raϊs 100% Sure (Presidency 100% Sure) assured victory prior to the vote, and his campaign speech in Butembo, which promised war if the people didn't vote correctly, was taken by many as threatening.
Yet, despite the threat of war, marginalization by the current regime, and the lack of a unified opposition, the Congolese people turned out in droves to place their votes. At a voting center in Butembo, Maman Marie walked calmly through the various lines looking for her name on the enrollment papers posted outside until somebody informed her the lists had been disregarded.
Many Congolese people are illiterate, thus organization by name had resulted in a massive back-up and near chaos earlier in the day. Once the lists had been discarded however, voters waited patiently in line, there was no visible intimidation, and election agents thoroughly explained voting procedure to each individual who entered the booth. But this was just Nzoli's voting center: there were, of course, problems with other centers and sporadic violence across the country.
Amy Ernst Since many Congolese are illiterate, photographs of the candidates were used for the presidential elections, which took place on November 28. The red dot inside of the rectangle shows the number assigned to each candidate. Either finger prints were to go inside of the white rectangle, or any of the approved hand-written marks to the right of the ballot. Voters had one finger dunked in ink to signify they had already voted and also to allow them to place a finger print if they couldn't write.
When Jean-Marie Sirimwami, a COPERMA employee, went to vote at his center, he was told that he had to travel to another one seven kilometers away in order to place his vote.
A voting location change in the United States would be an annoyance. In Congo it means you're probably not going to vote.
"I couldn't afford the transport to go all the way there," said Sirimwami , who ended up not voting. "How can you call it democracy if the people aren't able to place their votes?"
The truth about where the D.R. Congo ultimately stands will come with the result announcements scheduled for December 6. That said, the election itself went more smoothly than most predicted. Congolese might be acting out parts in a play they don't control, but they take their parts seriously. Despite the many obstacles and risks, they weren't discouraged and actively took part.
"We voted because we're Congolese and we have a right to vote," said Maman J., a local school teacher. "It shows that we love our country. It's a patriotic duty."
After placing her vote, Maman Marie volunteered to help count and verify the votes. "I want to do my part in making sure the results reflect what the people want," she said. She and the other volunteers worked through the night and into the morning, with no food or water and only one battery-powered lamp.
There may not be much hope for Congo if we only look to its current leaders to provide it, but hope is endless if we look to the engaged and impassioned people who voted peacefully under such conditions.
Stationed in North Kivu, Congo, for over a year now, Amy works with rape victims and other victims of war through COPERMA, a small non-profit. More of Amy's stories and photography can be found on her blog.
Original Page: http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/notes-from-a-young-american-in-congo-the-election/