Congo delays election results
Congolese riot-policeman stand guard on the streets of Goma, in eastern Congo on December 6,2011. Across the country, in Kinshasa, police fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters as tensions were running high in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the announcement of the winner of last week’s elections have been delayed until Dec. 8. The giant central African country is on high alert after a campaign that saw deadly police crackdowns on opposition rallies and a series of clashes between rival parties.
NAIROBI, Kenya — Congo's election commission has put off releasing the full list of provisional results by 48 hours saying they do not have all the tally sheets. Results are now due by midnight local time on Thursday.
The delay is ratcheting up tension in Congo as President Joseph Kabila seems to be clinging to a handy lead over his main rival Etienne Tshisekedi and accusations of fraud are growing louder.
In the meantime there are some interesting analyses out there.
The first is from Jason Stearns, author and Congo expert who blogs at Congo Siasa. His "Preliminary Analysis of Results" is worth taking a look at.
And Open Canada has put out a good analysis of the UN's role in the elections in particular and in Congo in general.
And CNN's Global Public Square blog has an analysis from a former US official in Congo.