Will elections change everything, or nothing?

Over lunch break, students and professors of the Christian University of Kinshasa gathered to discuss upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As one could expect in a country recently torn by a brutal war, where economic and state infrastructures are close to non-existent, the list of grievances was extensive.

What is the international community doing about security? Why are professors not being paid correctly? Why are there no jobs?

General elections are expected to be held between March and June, and the students’ queries remain in flux. Most don’t know how they will pay their school fees. Most, if not all, struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet.

In such a situation, it is tempting to hope that the elections will revolutionize everything. It is also easy to think they won’t change anything.

On one hand, optimistic students point out that more than 23 million Congolese, an estimated 75 percent of potential voters, have been registered to vote despite huge logistical issues. Those students also insist on the fact that the support of the international community is unprecedented: while the Congolese government is covering one-tenth of the total cost of the elections, estimated to be $498 million Cdn., the U.N. Mission in the DRC is providing $119 million Cdn. in logistical support. Individual donor countries are providing close to $345 million Cdn.

Considering the wars that erupted in 1996 and 1998, the fact that the transition process is on track is indeed a great source of hope. There are reasons to believe the Congolese people and their leaders will at last have a chance to build a democratic state.

On the other hand, pessimistic students insist that the transition to democracy remains fragile. In addition to humanitarian and security issues, political conditions are far from ideal. While people are clearly yearning for change, political elites appear to be satisfied with the status quo. Most politicians in power have gained their influence through the war and will lose their clout through elections.

Moreover, pessimistic students fear the elections themselves may trigger local outbreaks of violence. Because of the lack of a strong democratic tradition and a real political base, many parties will campaign along ethnic or regional lines.

It is clear that elections will not be a panacea. The post-electoral period will be filled with challenges. Large amounts of funding are needed to meet humanitarian needs: 25 percent of the DRC remains inaccessible and mortality rates are high in many areas. Vast investments are also necessary in the development sector. Basic infrastructures and services are desperately needed, while public services such as health and education must be dramatically improved.

Whether the optimistic or the pessimistic students are right depends much on the involvement of both the international community and churches. Through the Urgent Peace Project, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is providing civic education, mediation training and observer programs. Local churches, including Mennonite congregations, are making efforts to coordinate those numerous initiatives. Success is ultimately not about being optimistic or pessimistic. It’s a matter of commitment, faith and determination.

—David Blough, interim director of MCC’s U.N. Liaison Office through December 2005