DR CONGO:Church report scolds DR Congo poll body amid fresh delay

By Habibou Hangre | AFP –

• Electoral agents of National Independent Electoral Commission count ballots in Lemba, …
• Congolese worshippers attend a Catholic mass at St. Joseph Church in Kinshasa, in …

DR Congo's influential Catholic church on Thursday denounced "serious errors" in the tallying of November polls as the electoral commission announced a further delay in final vote results.

The November 28 general election saw President Joseph Kabila grab a second term amid widespread accusations of vote rigging but the full results of the parliamentary ballot have yet to be released.

The electoral panel "should have the courage to put itself on the line and fix the serious errors.. that have dented the people's trust in the institution, or else resign," the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) said.

The organisation addressed the statement -- entitled "Courage and Truth" -- to the Congolese people as a whole and condemned "irregularities as well as established -- and most likely planned -- cases of cheating."

"The testimonies we collected from various dioceses and other sources point to an often chaotic electoral process," CENCO said.
The Catholic church made the damning assessment after an extraordinary session compiling the final report of its observation mission during the polls in the giant central African country.
"The testimonies we collected from various dioceses and other sources point to an often chaotic electoral process," CENCO said.
It also spoke of "a climate of fear maintained in order to facilitate ballot-stuffing".
Though no official figures are available, several dozen people are feared to have been killed in violence before, during and after the vote.

Kabila's main challenger Etienne Tshisekedi cried foul and proclaimed himself the people's president, sparking fears of large-scale civil unrest in the conflict-prone country.

The electoral commission had suspended tallying in late December amid an opposition outcry over the way the presidential count was handled as well as criticism from the international community, which largely snubbed Kabila's inauguration.
Foreign experts from two US groups have since January 5 been working with Congolese electoral officials on the legislative ballot's counting process in a bid to enhance the results' credibility and assuage fears of civil unrest.
"What is happening right now in the tallying of the legislative election results is unacceptable. It brings shame on our country," CENCO said.
The polling body CENI said that full results that had been due out on Friday would be further delayed by "about a week".
The electoral commission had suspended tallying in late December amid an opposition outcry over the way the presidential count was handled as well as criticism from the international community, which largely snubbed Kabila's inauguration.

Foreign experts from two US groups have since January 5 been working with Congolese electoral officials on the legislative ballot's counting process in a bid to enhance the results' credibility and assuage fears of civil unrest.

The country is two-thirds the size of Western Europe and ranks last in the UN development index. Organising an election there is a huge logistical challenge, with 19,000 candidates vying for the assembly's 500 seats this year.