The Democratic Republic of Congo is half the size of Europe and has an estimated population of 60 million people, 25 million of whom were registered to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections held on July 30th.
Considering that these were the first democratic elections to have been held there since DR Congo became independent from Belgium in 1960, it is something of a miracle that 80 per cent of those registered are reckoned to have voted. This is all the more so given that three or four million died in the five-year war preceding the formation of the transitional regime led by Joseph Kabila in 2002. The country has only 400km of paved roads and lacks the basic infrastructure of communications underlying democratic elections elsewhere.
This shows ordinary people are more than ready for the greater stability and peaceful political development they hope will emerge from these elections. Reports from 5,000 international observers at the 46,000 voting booths indicated that they were as fair as could be expected, although the subsequent tallying exercise has been more problematic. There is a reasonable prospect that the elections can deliver an accepted result among the 33 presidential and 9,000 parliamentary candidates who stood. Initial reports indicated that Mr Kabila won the presidential contest; but, with results due to be declared tomorrow, it now looks much closer, raising the prospect of a run-off on October 29th.
Mr Kabila's transitional regime has included most of the antagonists in the war preceding it and he must decide whether to include some of them in a subsequent coalition. His most difficult task will be to manage the result in the eastern Kivu provinces, where the Congolese Rally for Democracy, a rebel group representing Tutsi and Hutu minorities with links to neighbouring Rwanda, maintains a strong militia force and threatens not to co-operate with the new government if its demands for autonomy are not met. The DR Congo's recent wars have all originated in this resource-rich area, stoked by Ugandan and Rwandan involvement and spreading through the Great Lakes region.
These Congolese wars and conflicts over the past 10 years have attracted far less international attention than less severe ones elsewhere. The efforts to ensure a peaceful political transition, including preparations for these elections and the presence of the largest existing United Nations peacekeeping force of 17,000 troops, deserve sustained support in coming years. This must include ensuring that neighbouring states are not tempted to intervene again.