Publication

For the first time in 41 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has held democratic elections. The first round of the Presidential and Legislative Elections on July 30th went off relatively smoothly, which had not been expected considering the enormous logistical challenges. Due to the fact that the elections have not lead to a clear result and neither of the candidates achieved the absolute majority, the runoff elections between the current incumbent Joseph Kabila (independent candidate) and the Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba (leader of the former rebellion-movement MLC) are expected to take place on October 29th.