The adopted electoral law includes "a number of guidelines for smooth electoral polls," says Le Potentiel. The document should be broadly disseminated "to help the population to exercise their inalienable voting right," advises the paper.

The electoral calendar is highly expected. The Head of the Independent Electoral Commission presented a chronogram to the parliament when addressing MPs on Tuesday. In the chronogram the CEI "plans to hold the polls from 18 June to 30 June 2006...yet the inauguration of the new elected Head of State is scheduled for the same period," says Le Potentiel. However, the question is "how will CEI simultaneously organise the various polls in 12 days and do the counting and proclamation of the tentative results..." wonders Le Potentiel.

Whatever happens, it is provided in "article 222 of the new constitution that the current institutions remain until the new ones are put in place through elections," says L'Avenir.

In other developments, Le Phare quotes MONUC as declaring, "It will spare no effort to help the DRC authorities neutralise General Nkunda and his gang." "There was need for MONUC to pool resources with the DRC Government to this end," further says La Tempête des Tropiques.

In the East, "shooting incident is reported between the body guards of the Nord Kivu Governor and the troops of the military region based in the region that left three people dead," reports Le Palmarès.