Congo election: Joseph Kabila leads in early results

[alp227]

Source: AP

Congo's president, seeking a second term in a nation reeling from poverty, was leading in early results but his opponents insisted he step aside and accused him of trying to engineer "carnage."

Joseph Kabila had 50.3% of the vote in early results from an election marred by technical problems and accusations of favouritism. Analysts had predicted he would win because the opposition candidates are likely to split the vote.

In a show of unity, the 10 opposition parties held a press conference and accused Kabila of attempting to engineer a situation like Kenya, Zimbabwe or the Ivory Coast, all countries where rulers used the army to try to silence dissent and cling to power after losing at the polls.

"I think that Joseph Kabila could go down in history ... if he were to say 'I'm a good sport and I lost,'" said opposition candidate Vital Kamerhe, a former speaker of Parliament. "He is preparing carnage."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/04/congo-election-joseph-kabila-results

[On the Road]

1. This is Too Bad

Sounds like the opposition fragmented itself.

[ellisonz]

2. Not looking good.

Kabila:

Following high school, Joseph Kabila followed a military curriculum in Tanzania, then at Makerere University in Uganda. In October 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila launched the campaign in Zaire to oust the Mobutu regime. Joseph became the commander of the infamous army of "kadogos" (child soldiers) and played a key role in major battles on the road to Kinshasa. The liberation army received logistical and military support from regional armies from Rwanda, Uganda, Angola and Zimbabwe. Following the AFDL's victory, and Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rise to the presidency, Joseph Kabila went on to get further training at the PLA National Defense University, in Beijing, China.

When he returned from China, Kabila was awarded the rank of Major-General, and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1998. He was later, in 2000, appointed Chief of Staff of the Land Forces, a position he held until the elder President Kabila's assassination in January 2001.<1> As chief of staff, he was one of the main military leaders in charge of Government troops during the time of the Second Congo War (1998–2003).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kabila