With only a few days before elections on 30 July 2006 and the end of the electoral campaign close at hand, the process continues to capture much of Kinshasa press attention.

In a communiqué, "the CIAT [International Committee In Support of the Transition] urges the Congolese to go out and vote massively on Sunday," L'Observateur reports. The CIAT considers that the war-scarred DR Congo has here "a historic opportunity to turn the page" with polls. This message, notes L'Observateur, is in "contradiction with that from bishops and priests of Kinshasa's [Catholic] archdiocese who expressed their concerns over [allegations of irregularities in] the organisation of elections".

Noting that "the CIAT urges the Congolese to participate in the 30 July [2006] polls," Le Potentiel points out that the Congolese people, "who have waited for this crucial moment for more than four decades, will [through this vote] decide their own future". "[The people] will choose from a list of 33 presidential candidates [the leader] who will preside over the country's destiny for the next five years."

With this message the International Committee In support of the Transition is in fact trying to " counter the devastating and demobilising effects of the Catholic Church's double message," according to Le Phare. "The haste with which the CIAT published its communiqué shows that the international community was shaken by the position taken by the Catholic Church." In a special declaration issued on 20 July 2006, the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) had indeed "threatened not to recognise the validity of the 30 July polls unless all alleged irregularities are addressed...," Le Phare recalls.

The CENCO can "multiply appeals to the Congolese people, [but] it is not certain that its calls will be heeded," according to L'Avenir. The most shocking thing, says L'Avenir, "is the manipulation of some priests (...) and the use of the church context [for its ability to] arouse blind confidence among some Christians."

Despite this, the Catholic Church of Kinshasa is meeting today at the archdiocese of Kinshasa. According to Le Phare, this meeting will be aiming at "publicly renewing the Catholic Church's criticism of the electoral process," and, more especially, officially "distancing itself from Rev. [Appolinaire] Malumalu, the president of the CEI [Independent Electoral Commission] whose behaviour is seen as not conforming to the Catholic Church's teachings," according to Le Phare.

Appearing on the Congolese RTNC state television programme "Vivement ...les elections" yesterday [Monday], Rev. Malumalu confirmed 30 July 2006 as the date for the presidential and legislative elections throughout the national territory, La Référence Plus reports. The Independent Electoral Commission president said "anyone interested in taking a look at the central server [would be welcome] to visit the Commission's Kinshasa office." During the same TV programme, Mr Malumalu also announced that "the dates for the second round of the presidential and other elections will be known before 30 July [2006]," according to La Référence Plus.

In another development, La Référence Plus mentions a 23 July 2006 clash between PPRD [pro-Joseph Kabila party] and MLC [Jean-Pierre Bemba's party] militants near the Rond Point Ngaba roundabouts in Kinshasa. "The tension went up a notch between the two camps (...) and there was stone throwing" when the two motorised [electoral] campaign caravans passed each other, writes La Référence Plus, adding that "the worse was narrowly averted thanks to the action of Rapid Intervention Police".

Reporting plans by UDPS [Etienne Tshisekedi's opposition party] to hold demonstrations this week, La Référence Plus notes that on 30 July, "starting from 6 AM, this party's militants will be converging on polling stations where sit-ins will be held until closing time."