Last year, legislative and democratic presidential elections, which were free and transparent, happened in Congo Democratic Republic (CDR). This was the first time since the declaration of independence of the country, in 1960. It took several years to prepare the event, since it was not only question of logistics, but also of popular education. Développement et Paix, a non-governmental organization (NGO) has participated to this great challenge, with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

In some countries, it is not always easy for the non-governmental organization to intervene. After many years of dictatorship under the Mobutu polity, the years of war that followed the polity, which made more than 4 millions of victims, the CDR was one of them.

"It is obvious that in 2001, this country had a high level of difficulty. Our Canadian adviser had to be repatriated during the war, even if he was living in the capital of the country, a place less dangerous than other regions, with his family. On the other hand, after the war, with a government in transition, almost everything was going well", assistant director of Développement et Paix international program services.

A Congolese votes for the first time of her life, at the first ballot of the presidential elections, in July 2006. The picture was taken in Likasi, the province of Katanga, in Congo Democratic Republic. Photo : Sylvie Bélanger

Historical elections
After a peace agreement in 2002, and after the setting up of a transition government, the elections were going to happen in CDR. They have finally occurred in 2006. "We have to understand that it was a real historical moment for the population. It was the first free and democratic elections since the declaration of independence of the country. There was a lot of civic education to do", explains Mrs Gobeil.

The population had to be sensitized and, in order to reach all these people, even in the most isolated regions, Développement et Paix had worked in collaboration with the Catholic Church. "It is the only organization with representatives everywhere in the country. We have prepared civic education material and trained leaders who had to work with the population", mentions Mrs Gobeil.

The material prepared by Développement et Paix was used to train more than 60 000 leaders in the 47 dioceses of the country. What does voting means? How can you not be corrupted by a candidate? How can you organize a meeting with a candidate? Here are some examples of the questions that we have talked about during the training. Finally, more than 30 000 electoral observers have been trained in order to make sure that the elections would be really free.

A radio station for the population
Développement et Paix has also worked to set up a network of community radio stations. "The radios that are diffusing their programs in the local language are very important in the communities where there is a high level of illiteracy. It is a very powerful resource for democracy", says Mrs Gobeil.

The radio stations, which are controlled by organizations made of different groups from the society, really shows the concerns of the population. They also allow the persons to give their opinion, disperse information bulletins, but also entertainment and music. Moreover, in a preelectoral context, the radio stations have played an important role in the citizen’s education. They have invited the candidates, so the journalists and the public would be able to ask them questions.

"In the population, listening clubs have also been set up in order to really listen to the candidates discourse. After the programs, discussions and debates were held", explains Danielle Gobeil.

For a continuation
The Congolese population has well received the several initiatives proposed by Développement et Paix regarding civic education. "We have to mention that this project has been launched during a very intense period. The elections were representing a hope, after the war and the destitution, for the population. The election of a leader was the first step towards a peaceful climate in the country", mentions Mrs Gobeil.

Développement et Paix was measuring the great motivation of the population everyday. "I remember that a person in charge of the program was telling me that she was going in the farthest villages, in pirogue, and hundreds of people were waiting for or on the shore, to welcome her" adds Mrs Gobeil.

On a logistics point of view, the challenges were considerable and, once ore, the population has mobilized to make the elections a success. "In this large country, it was a real puzzle to prepare the citizens’ cards since most of these people had not even an ID card. Moreover, the persons who have participated to the observation mission have been impressed by the seriousness of the organization, even if they had very little resources. In the rooms where there was no electricity at all, the people were counting the letter ballots manually, at the light of a lantern. It was something to see", says Mrs Gobeil.

This great enthusiasm from the population was represented by a high level of participation on the elections day. Even with the attempts prevent the elections and the boycott requests made by some political actors, 70% of the electors went to vote on the first tour and 65% of them went to the second one.

Not so long ago, the project of Développement et Paix ended, but the non-governmental organization wants to go further with a second step, which is necessary. "The situation is still very precary in this country, says Mrs Gobeil. Once a first free and democratic election has happened, the work still continues! There are new leaders who have been elected and we have to make sure that they maintain good discussions with the population and that they give feedback. "