Historic vote in the DR Congo springs hope for Africa...

With stories about the misfire ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic tirade and cheating athletes (Justin Gatlin and Floyd Landis) dominating the news last weekend, it was easy for people in the United States to be completely oblivious to the historic event that took place in the DR Congo on Sunday.

But, after 40 years of lurching between dictatorships and Rwanda-style warfare, this African country of 57 million people held its first national elections with such regard for democratic principles that it would make George Washington – the father of American democracy – blush with envy. And, with 32 presidential candidates, 9,709 parliamentary candidates and 25.6m voters, it is certainly understandable that it might take weeks before official results are declared.

Of course, it is also understandable that many Congolese fear that the leaders of minor political factions who refused to participate will return to arms to nip this flowering democracy in the bud. Such fears should be allayed, however, by Joseph Kabila, the DR Congo’s caretaker leader and the presidential candidate favored by the international community, who vowed – even before the first vote was cast – that win or lose he shall abide by the results. And, given his political influence and the military power he commands, Kabila will be instrumental in maintaining law and order as this nation transitions to a functioning democracy.

Though, apropos the potentially contentious results, no matter which leader emerges victorious, he will probably have more of a legitimate mandate to govern the DR Congo than George W Bush won to govern the United States in 2000 and 2004. After all, here’s how UN election monitors rendered their verdict in this regard:

All indications that we have, not just from Kinshasa, but across the country is that the population has responded fairly substantively.... The number of incidents have been absolutely minimal. The security hasn't been a problem and it has been an extraordinary day for Congo.

Indeed!

DR Congo elections