UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
5 Mar
2009
Press Review
Today's media spotlight has fallen on a poll carried out in Kinshasa to reflect the voting intentions of the Congolese in the next elections.
"Should presidential elections take place now, Etienne Tshisekedi would win 24.1% of the votes versus 22.8% for president Joseph Kabila'', reports LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, echoing a poll conducted in Kinshasa from 29 to 31 March, by the "Institut de recherche et de sondage d'opinion Facilitas Consulting". According to the poll, ''Jean Pierre Bemba of the MLC would get 8.3% of the votes, while Antoine Gizenga, the leader of the Parti Lumumbiste unifié (PALU) would get 7.8% votes''. Vice-president Abdoulaye Yerodia would get 5.7% of the votes, versus 3.5% for Vice-president Azarias Ruberwa, indicates the paper.
From the results of the poll published in full by LE PHARE, "28.8% of the individuals interviewed are of the opinion that UDPS (Union for Democracy and Social Progress) would win parliament's majority should legislative elections take place on 31 March 2004 versus 24.5% for the PPRD (Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et le Développement) and 8.4% for the MLC''. The paper further says, 43.4% of the persons interviewed voiced their desire to see the electoral process begin with the presidential elections before anything else on the calendar, 25.6% opted for local elections first and 16.3% for legislative elections.
With regard to a political system in the DRC, 37.6% of the interviewees opted for the parliamentary regime, 36.4% for the presidential regime and 25.4% for the semi-presidential regime, reveals LA REFERENCE PLUS, adding that the 1019 interviewees included 525 men versus 494 women, whose ages ranged from 18 upwards, drawn randomly from different districts in Kinshasa.
The same paper further announces that an inter-institutional committee was put in place as "a framework for consultations and exchange of information for the duration of the referendums and the electoral process in DRC''. The Committee, set up under the sponsorship of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), comprises delegates from all of the DRC Transitional institutions as well as the International Committee for the Support of the Transition (CIAT), indicates the paper.
LE PALMARES reviews the 28 March shoot-out in Kinshasa and presents an interview given by the Coordinator of the "Armée céleste". The paper refers to a mysterious correspondent who contacted their News/Publication room to claim the attack on the military camps in Kinshasa indicating that it was aimed to ''release the elements of the Armée céleste jailed at Demiap (Military Detection of unpatriotic activities) situated at Sicotra beach''. The Armée céleste coordinator declared that the movement was not intent on perpetrating a coup. "If our intention was to take power, we would have sought to kill President Joseph Kabila and to take over the RTNC (Congolese Radio and Television Broadcast) to pass a message for the coup as well as the N'djili airport", he said. The movement conveyed its political claims indicating that it is "incredible that small armies such as the RCD-ML and RCD-N had received a portion of the power sharing in Sun City and were incorporated into the new integrated army while, we, the ex-Faz, being experienced and well equipped, have been forgotten''. The interlocutor of LE PALMARES further reveals that the "Armée céleste" is a group of ex-Faz (Forces armées zaïroises), joined by some discontented ex-FAC (Forces Armées Congolaises) elements, which operated secretly from Brazzaville.
As part of the normalisation of relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, Rwandan authorities have appointed a Rwandan ambassador for the DRC, reports L'AVENIR however noting that it is a "provocation" from Rwanda to appoint a "Congolese soldier" as its ambassador, says the paper, ''the ambassador is Mr. Antoine Munyakazi, born in the DRC where he went through military training before reaching Rwanda in 1996''.
On the occasion of the first year of the solemn signing of the Acte Final of the Inter- Congolese Dialogue, the Facilitator of the Dialogue, the former Botswana president Sir Ketumile Masire was interviewed by the press from Gaborone, reveals L'OBSERVATEUR. Sir Ketumile congratulated the Congolese political players for managing the current transition so well, in spite of some hiccups inherent to any peace process, indicates the paper. " The Congolese people not only have a capacity to cause crises but they also have an outstanding capacity to overcome the crises and also a remarkable capacity to overcome and resolve sometimes difficult situations", he said, declaring himself optimistic that the elections would take place in 2005.
From the results of the poll published in full by LE PHARE, "28.8% of the individuals interviewed are of the opinion that UDPS (Union for Democracy and Social Progress) would win parliament's majority should legislative elections take place on 31 March 2004 versus 24.5% for the PPRD (Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et le Développement) and 8.4% for the MLC''. The paper further says, 43.4% of the persons interviewed voiced their desire to see the electoral process begin with the presidential elections before anything else on the calendar, 25.6% opted for local elections first and 16.3% for legislative elections.
With regard to a political system in the DRC, 37.6% of the interviewees opted for the parliamentary regime, 36.4% for the presidential regime and 25.4% for the semi-presidential regime, reveals LA REFERENCE PLUS, adding that the 1019 interviewees included 525 men versus 494 women, whose ages ranged from 18 upwards, drawn randomly from different districts in Kinshasa.
The same paper further announces that an inter-institutional committee was put in place as "a framework for consultations and exchange of information for the duration of the referendums and the electoral process in DRC''. The Committee, set up under the sponsorship of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), comprises delegates from all of the DRC Transitional institutions as well as the International Committee for the Support of the Transition (CIAT), indicates the paper.
LE PALMARES reviews the 28 March shoot-out in Kinshasa and presents an interview given by the Coordinator of the "Armée céleste". The paper refers to a mysterious correspondent who contacted their News/Publication room to claim the attack on the military camps in Kinshasa indicating that it was aimed to ''release the elements of the Armée céleste jailed at Demiap (Military Detection of unpatriotic activities) situated at Sicotra beach''. The Armée céleste coordinator declared that the movement was not intent on perpetrating a coup. "If our intention was to take power, we would have sought to kill President Joseph Kabila and to take over the RTNC (Congolese Radio and Television Broadcast) to pass a message for the coup as well as the N'djili airport", he said. The movement conveyed its political claims indicating that it is "incredible that small armies such as the RCD-ML and RCD-N had received a portion of the power sharing in Sun City and were incorporated into the new integrated army while, we, the ex-Faz, being experienced and well equipped, have been forgotten''. The interlocutor of LE PALMARES further reveals that the "Armée céleste" is a group of ex-Faz (Forces armées zaïroises), joined by some discontented ex-FAC (Forces Armées Congolaises) elements, which operated secretly from Brazzaville.
As part of the normalisation of relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, Rwandan authorities have appointed a Rwandan ambassador for the DRC, reports L'AVENIR however noting that it is a "provocation" from Rwanda to appoint a "Congolese soldier" as its ambassador, says the paper, ''the ambassador is Mr. Antoine Munyakazi, born in the DRC where he went through military training before reaching Rwanda in 1996''.
On the occasion of the first year of the solemn signing of the Acte Final of the Inter- Congolese Dialogue, the Facilitator of the Dialogue, the former Botswana president Sir Ketumile Masire was interviewed by the press from Gaborone, reveals L'OBSERVATEUR. Sir Ketumile congratulated the Congolese political players for managing the current transition so well, in spite of some hiccups inherent to any peace process, indicates the paper. " The Congolese people not only have a capacity to cause crises but they also have an outstanding capacity to overcome the crises and also a remarkable capacity to overcome and resolve sometimes difficult situations", he said, declaring himself optimistic that the elections would take place in 2005.
