A campaign poster for the incumbent, Joseph Kabila
(Photo: © Jane Some/IRIN)CMS is backing a global prayer call for churches in the UK and worldwide to take five minutes to pray for Democratic Republic of Congo during their Sunday services this week and next.
On 28 November (Monday), millions of Congolese go to the polls to choose a president and a parliament for the next five years, in the second elections since long-term leader Mobutu Sese Seko was ousted in 1997.
In an already volatile country, there are fears about pre-election violence and doubts about the election authority's ability to get everything ready on time.
So CMS is supporting
Prayer for Peace in Congo’s special appeal to the Christian community and churches in UK and around the world to join them in prayer on this Sunday 27 November and Sunday 4 December in their respective local churches.
CMS transcultural manager for Africa Stephen Burgess explains: “We are asking people to pray for peace to be upheld in the run-up to, and after, the elections. Pray that people can vote freely and fairly. Pray that the results will be accepted and pray for the new president - that he may lead DR Congo fairly and justly in the future.”
He continued: “I have recently returned from visiting churches in Eastern Congo and what the people ask for and want is peace. Whoever is elected, we want peace to remain and not a return to war. It’s what people are crying out for.”
Several of the candidates in the upcoming election are graduates of the Anglican Church's training centre at Mahagi in eastern DRC, which long-serving mission partner Judy Acheson MBE helped establish.
Crucial test
The last elections, in 2006, were part of a UN-supported transition which was meant to move the country on from a phase that included a lengthy dictatorship and a subsequent civil war, the BBC reports.
The International Crisis Group, an organisation which aims to prevent conflict, says these elections are a crucial test and are likely to indicate whether DR Congo is on course to consolidate its fledgling democracy or return to a state of widespread instability.
Congolese Bishop Sylvestre Bali-Busane Bahati of the Anglican Diocese of Bukavu is also appealing for prayer during this uneasy period.
“Congolese people are going to new presidential and legislative elections. As we know, elections in Africa are often a cause of war if the candidates cannot agree with the results,” he said.
“Therefore, we require prayer assistance so that the elections in DR Congo may take place in peace with results contributing to the peace establishment everywhere in the country.”
Bishop Bahati is also a member of Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN).
Violent past
Prayer for Peace in Congo (
www.prayerforpeaceincongo.co.uk), an initiative which brings believers together to campaign for peace and reconciliation in DRC, says: “The presidential election in DR Congo has already featured violence and loss of life since the campaign period started, and recently a remarkable escalation of violence with the use of machete and violent rhetoric from politicians of both sides. There have been some fatalities as a result.
“The DR Congo has come from violent past with seven million deaths, and with an estimate of 48 rapes of women and children every hour, without counting child soldiers and orphan, the country does not need another disaster.”
“For this reason we are asking churches in UK and around the world to take five minutes to pray for Congo during their Sunday services.”
Victory for forces of change
Of the dozen candidates in the running, it is thought only two have the ability to wage a credible campaign all over the country: Joseph Kabila, as the incumbent and with all the resources of the state at his disposal; and Etienne Tshisekedi, who has been the country's foremost opposition leader – heading the Congolese democracy movement since 1980.
Tshisekedi served under Mobutu but was one of the few to challenge him and is thought to be banking on the people's desire for political change. But some say his advancing years (79) may count against him – and his involvement in the Mobutu dictatorship.
“But whatever the results that are eventually announced by the electoral commission following the elections, the current campaign is already a victory for the forces of change,” adds Stephen Burgess.