Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
on 24 June 2007, with a second round initially planned for 22 July 2007, but then postponed to 5 August 2007. According to the National Commission of the Organization of the Elections (CONEL), 1,807 candidates stood in the first round for 137 seats in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
Congolese Labour Party
The Congolese Party of Labour (, PCT) is the ruling party of the Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, it was originally a pro-Soviet, Marxist–Leninist vanguard party which founded the People's Republic of the Congo. It to ...
Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya
Jean-Pierre Thystère Tchicaya (January 7, 1936Justin Lekoundzou, the President of the Parliamentary Group of the Presidential Majority, sent a letter to President
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He also previously served as president from 1979 to 1992.
Sassou Nguesso he ...
on 24 March 2007. In this letter, Lekoundzou and Thystère Tchicaya urged the establishment of an independent national electoral commission to oversee the 2007 parliamentary elections."Les députés se désolidarisent de la démarche de Thystère Tchicaya et Lékoundzou" , ''La Semaine Africaine'', number 2,686, 13 April 2007, page 3 . Coming from two leading members of the Presidential Majority, the letter was a significant gesture of dissent, as it called into question the government's existing efforts to establish an independent electoral commission. In response to the letter, the deputies of the Presidential Majority, led by
Alexandre Denguet Atiki
Alexandre Denguet Atticky ( – 30 January 2013) was a Congolese politician. Under the single-party rule of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT), he served in the government of Congo-Brazzaville as Minister of Labour from 1971 to 1975 and was Amb ...
, held a meeting in Mpila on 11 April to clarify that they did not endorse the letter. They criticized Lekoundzou and Thystère Tchicaya for acting outside of the parliamentary process and for making a statement that could be misinterpreted as reflecting the broader wishes of the deputies of the Presidential Majority, given their leadership roles.
In April the National Assembly approved a bill providing for the creation of an independent electoral commission, but it was not signed into law by Sassou Nguesso in time for the election; as a result, the election was conducted according to older legislation. The opposition criticized this, but it also criticized the bill passed in April on the grounds that the powers of the proposed electoral commission would be too limited.
Campaign
On 23 April 2007, 42 groups of the presidential majority, supporting President Sassou Nguesso, signed an electoral agreement in
Brazzaville
Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development
The Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (; MCDDI) is a Liberalism, liberal political party in the Republic of the Congo, led by Bernard Kolélas until his death in 2009. His son, Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas, has led the party ...
(MCDDI) of
Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Bakana Kolélas (12 June 1933Alain Kounzilat, , Kimpwanza (planeteafrique.com) . – 13 November 2009Thierry Noungou"Parlement - Bernard Bakana Kolélas décédé ce 13 novembre à Paris", ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 13 November ...
signed an agreement on 24 April to form an alliance for the parliamentary election as well as subsequent local, senatorial, and presidential elections. This marked the official renewal of a previous alliance between the two parties in the early 1990s, which had lapsed later in the decade. A joint technical committee was to oversee the implementation of the agreement.Willy Mbossa & Roger Ngombé "Le MCDDI et le PCT de nouveau alliés pour gouverner ensemble" , ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', April 24, 2007 .
About 40 opposition parties chose to boycott the election, seeking a new, independent electoral commission and a later date for the election."Two million Congolese vote Sunday to elect 137 MPs" African Press Agency, June 24, 2007. Parties that said they would participate in the election included the
Pan-African Union for Social Democracy
The Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (, UPADS) is a political party in the Republic of the Congo headed by Pascal Lissouba, who was President from 1992 to 1997. It has been the country's main opposition party since Lissouba's ouster in 199 ...
(UPADS) of former President
Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020) was a Congolese politician who was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by his pred ...
Emmanuel Ngouolondélé Mongo
Immanuel or Emmanuel (, "God swith us"; Koine Greek: ) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David.
The Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 1:22 –23) interprets this as a prophecy of ...
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
on May 12, describing the election as a farce.
Despite signing an agreement with the government in late April, the National Council of Republicans (CNR), the party of former rebel leader Pasteur Ntumi, later announced that it would not participate in the election due to what it described as a lack of transparency. On 7 June Ntumi said that his party would participate, but on 19 June the CNR demanded that the government delay the election within two days or the party would boycott. It alleged that the organization of the election was not transparent and said that electoral rolls had not yet been posted and that voter cards had not yet been distributed. Ultimately the CNR participated in the election, putting forward six candidates, including Ntumi. The end of hostilities with Ntumi's "
Ninja
A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
" rebels enabled the 2007 election to be held fully in the Pool Region; in the previous parliamentary election in 2002, voting did not take place in the eight of the 14 constituencies in the Pool Region due to the activities of Ntumi's rebel group.
Prior to the vote, the boycotting opposition appealed to the Constitutional Court regarding alleged electoral flaws, seeking to have the election cancelled, but on 22 June the Constitutional Court rejected this and ruled that only candidates could dispute the election.
Campaigning for the election began on June 8 and continued until 22 June. Although many voters did not receive their voter cards, Armand Baboutila, the Director-General of Electoral Affairs, assured them on June 20 that their voter cards would be available at the polling stations on election day.
Conduct
In the first round of the election, held on 24 June, serious problems were reported, including the absence of electoral rolls and voter cards, or errors in them, in some places.John James "Counting begins in Congo election" BBC News, June 25, 2007."Congo: premier tour des législatives chaotique" AFP, June 25, 2007 . Widespread delays were reported in the opening of polling stations, and turnout was said to be low. The electoral commission said that results would not be available for a week or more. The opposition denounced the election, with Ambroise Hervé Malonga, acting as spokesman for the boycotting opposition parties, calling it "chaos, not an election". The President of CONEL, Henri Bouka, acknowledged problems, but said that they were limited to
Brazzaville
Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
and
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire (; , with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 Constitution. B ...
, the country's two main cities.
The observer missions of the
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
and the
Economic Community of Central African States
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; , CEEAC; , CEEAC; , CEEAC) is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise ...
said in a joint statement on 26 June that, among other shortcomings, polling stations were opened late, electoral materials were often unavailable, voters were often not included on the voter rolls, and many voters did not receive voter registration cards. They also judged voter turnout to be very low. On the other hand, they said that voting was peaceful and without intimidation.
Minister for Territorial Administration
François Ibovi
François Ibovi is a Republic of the Congo, Congolese politician who held a succession of key posts in the government of Congo-Brazzaville beginning in 1997. Closely associated with President Denis Sassou Nguesso, he was Minister of Communication ...
suspended Baboutila, the Director-General of Electoral Affairs, on 28 June accusing him of negligence due to the problems in the election;"Congo: un opposant demande l'annulation du premier tour des législatives" AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), June 29, 2007 ."Top election chief sacked after poll chaos" AFP (''IOL''), June 28, 2007. Gaston Ololo was appointed in Baboutila's place for the second round. Opposition spokesman Malonga demanded on 29 June that the elections be annulled and that the government, and particularly Ibovi, resign. Malonga said that the suspension of Baboutila was insufficient and that Ibovi and the President of CONEL, Henri Bouka, should have resigned. Roger Bouka of the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights was also sharply critical of irregularities and the failure of voting to take place in some areas, calling for the election to be annulled.
A report by African Union observers said that there were major problems in the second round; among other things, it cited voter list errors, with some names absent and others listed more than once, and "incomplete distribution of the new voter registration cards". The report recommended a number of improvements in the organization of elections.
Results
On 30 June results from the Ministry of Territorial Administration showed the ruling PCT winning 23 seats out of the 44 seats declared in the first round"Législatives au Congo: le parti présidentiel largement en tête au 1er tour" AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), June 30, 2007 ."Quarante quatre candidats déclarés élus au premier tour" ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', June 30, 2007 . (21 in the north and two in the south"Législatives: le Parti congolais du travail et ses alliés raflent 35 sièges à l'issue du premier tour partiel" Xinhua (Jeuneafrique.com), June 30, 2007 .). Another 12 seats went to its allies: four for the MCDDI, three for the Movement for Action and Revival, two for the Patriotic Union for Democracy and Progress, one for the Movement for Solidarity, one for the Club 2002 PUR, and one for To Act for Congo. Seven seats were won by independent candidates, who were considered to be allies of the ruling party, and two were won by the opposition UPADS.Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou, the President of the UPADS Parliamentary Group in the outgoing National Assembly, denounced the election as "faked" and said that the voter lists were "totally false".
Results for two additional seats were declared on 1 July: one for UPADS and one for an independent candidate.
On 8 July the election was held again in five districts due to the problems that plagued the first attempt. These districts were located in
Niari Region
Niari (can also be written as ''Niadi'') is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department of the Republic of the Congo in the western part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza Department, Bouenza, Kouilou Department, Kou ...
Cuvette Region
Cuvette is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the central part of the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette-Ouest, Likouala, Plateaux, and Sangha, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital is Owa ...
, and
Cuvette-Ouest Region
Cuvette-Ouest (or Western Cuvette) is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the western part of the country. Cuvette-Ouest is the least populated department in the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette, Sangha, and Plateaux, and ...
. In 14 other districts, seven of them in Brazzaville and six in Pointe-Noire, the election was held again on July 15. CONEL President Henri Bouka described this vote as proceeding calmly and without incident.
UPADS Secretary-General
Pascal Tsaty-Mabiala
Pascal Tsaty Mabiala is a Congolese politician who has been the Secretary-General of the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS) since 2006, as well as President of the UPADS Parliamentary Group since 2007. He stood as the UPADS candidate ...
said on July 4 that the party would only participate in the second round of the election on July 22 if the electoral rolls were improved, voter registration cards were properly distributed, and the composition of the electoral commissions was changed. He also said that the second round should be delayed to allow time for these things to be done.
On 12 July President Sassou Nguesso stated that the second round would be postponed to a more appropriate date due to the necessary repetition of the first round in many districts. Ibovi announced on 19 July that the second round would be held on 5 August, with campaigning from 20 July to 3 August. He also announced the results of the first round revotes: the PCT and its allies won seven seats, while the opposition won none.
CONEL President Henri Bouka announced the publication of new voter registration cards on 1 August in an attempt to ensure that the second round would not be as marred by problems as the first round."De nouvelles cartes d'électeur au 2ème tour des législatives au Congo" Panapress, August 1, 2007 . He later said that the distribution of the cards would continue until 4 August and that those cards not distributed would be available in polling stations. Tsaty-Mabiala doubted that the election would be transparent and said that the UPADS did not understand why the new cards were being introduced. Malonga was also critical, saying that "the second round will be no different from the first". Observers expressed concern over the failure to post electoral lists in some districts.
The second round took place in 84 districts, with a total of 168 candidates. Reports indicated a low turnout and delays in the opening of polling stations. Bouka gave a positive appraisal of the vote, although there were reports of voters' names, some of whom had been able to vote in the first round, not being included on electoral lists."Congo: cafouillages en série et désintérêt lors des élections législatives" AFP, August 6, 2007 . Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou of UPADS denounced the second round as fraudulent and accused the government of seeking to restore single-party rule. Malonga said that the second round was poorly organized.
According to results announced by Ibovi on 9 August, the PCT won a total of 44 seats, while its allies won a total of 80 seats, including the MCDDI with 12 seats. Opposition parties won a total of 11 seats, 10 for UPADS and one for the UDR. Two seats, for Bouaniela and Liranga districts, were not yet decided, because voting could not be held there on the date of the election. Tsaty-Mabiala denounced the results as fraudulent on 11 August and said that the election was neither transparent nor fair. He alleged that five UPADS candidates, in Mossendjo, Moutamba, Nkayi, Mabombo and Dolisie electoral districts, had won but were deprived of victory in the results. The party appealed to the Constitutional Court. On 13 August Ibovi announced a correction in the results for one of the electoral districts UPADS claimed to have won, Mabombo (in
Bouenza Region
Bouenza (can also be written as ''Buenza'' or ''Bwenza'') is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southern part of the country. It borders the departments of Lékoumou, Niari, and Pool, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of ...
), which had gone to Marcel Kalla in the previous results, but which Ibovi said was actually won by the UPADS candidate, Christophe Moukouéké, with 59.01% of the vote;"Un candidat de l'opposition repêché après rectificatif au Congo" Panapress, August 13, 2007 .Thierry Noungou "Le gouvernement annonce la victoire de Christophe Moukouéké aux législatives de Mabombo" ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', August 13, 2007 . the previously announced result was attributed to a clerical error. This raised the number of UPADS seats to 11.
In the two districts where voting was not held on 5 August, it took place on 19–20 August. On 24 August Ibovi announced that these seats were won by Raymond Ebonga and Alexandre Koumou, both independents who are considered to be allied with the PCT, thus bringing the total number of seats won by the ruling party and its allies to 125.
Aftermath
The new National Assembly held its first session on 4 September, chaired by MCDDI President Bernard Kolélas, the oldest member, who won a seat from Goma Tsé-Tsé.
Justin Koumba
Justin Koumba (born 5 April 1947Willy Mbossa and Roger Ngombé, "Qui sont les nouveaux membres du bureau de l'Assemblée nationale ?", ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 8 September 2007 . ) is a Congolese politician who was President of the Nat ...
of the PCT was elected as the President of the National Assembly"La nouvelle Assemblée nationale entre en fonction" Xinhua, September 5, 2007 ."Election du nouveau président de l'Assemblée nationale" Panapress, September 5, 2007 . without opposition, receiving 121 votes from the 129 participating deputies. François Ibovi, the Minister of Territorial Administration, was elected as First Vice-President of the National Assembly,Bernard Tchibambelela of the MCDDI was elected as Second Vice-President, Pierre Ngolo of the PCT was elected as First Secretary, and Claudine Munari, an independent, was elected as Second Secretary. All of the seven members of the National Assembly's bureau were from the ruling majority, and six of them were elected without opposition. In the only contested election, a UPADS candidate received 12 votes against 115 for the ruling majority's candidate in the vote for the position of First Quaestor.
The heads of the seven permanent commissions in the National Assembly, as well as the heads of its three parliamentary groups, were elected later in September. Alexandre Dengué Atiki was chosen as the President of the Parliamentary Group of the PCT and the Presidential Majority, while Rodrigue Mouyéké was chosen as President of the MCDDI Parliamentary Group, which was allied with the Presidential Majority. Tsaty-Mabiala was chosen as President of the UPADS Parliamentary Group, which was the only opposition parliamentary group. Also in September, 12 elected deputies notified the National Assembly that they would not sit as deputies due to the incompatibility of that position with another position they already held, and would therefore be replaced by their substitutes. These 12 deputies included two presidential advisers ( Laurent Tengo and Thierry Moungala) and ten ministers in the government ( Lamyr Nguelé, Emile Mabondzo, Pierre-Michel Nguimbi, Henri Ossebi,
Jean-Claude Gakosso
Jean-Claude Gakosso (born 25 July 1957) is a Congolese politician who has served in the government of the Republic of the Congo as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2015. Previously, he was Minister of Culture and the Arts from 2002 to 2015.
Pro ...
Bruno Itoua
Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua (born 6 October 1956"Biographie du Ministre de l'Energie et de l'Hydraulique Son Excellence Bruno Jean Richard Itoua", Ministry of Energy and Hydraulics of Congo-Brazzaville (accessed 10 July 2013) .) is a Congolese po ...
, and
Jeanne Dambendzet
Jeanne Dambendzet (born 1 August 1943"Dambendzet Jeanne", ''Congo Brazzaville: Les Hommes de Pouvoir'', number 1Africa Intelligence 29 October 2002 .) is a Congolese politician. She served in the government of Congo-Brazzaville from 1989 to 1991 an ...
).
On 28 September Tsaty-Mabiala criticized the failure of the Constitutional Court to issue decisions on appeals regarding the election despite the passage of the one-month period for examination of the appeals. He said that UPADS had submitted five appeals.
The Constitutional Court held public hearings beginning on 22 October, and on 26 October it annulled the results of four constituenciesRoger Ngombé "Verdict de la Cour constitutionnelle : reprise du scrutin législatif dans quatre circonscriptions électorales" ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', October 27, 2007 ., congo-site.com, October 29, 2007 .— Yamba (in
Bouenza Department
Bouenza (can also be written as ''Buenza'' or ''Bwenza'') is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department of the Republic of the Congo in the southern part of the country. It borders the departments of Lékoumou Department, Lékoumou, Ni ...
Kayes
Kayes ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ tr. ''Kayi'', Soninké: ''Xaayi'') is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of the administrative region of the same name. The city is loc ...
(also in Bouenza Department), where Michel Bidimbou, the initial winner, was to again face Pierre Ngaka; Kibangou (in
Niari Department
Niari (can also be written as ''Niadi'') is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the western part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza, Kouilou, and Lékoumou, and internationally, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of th ...
), where Serge Victor Ignoumba, the initial winner, was to again face UDD President Pierre Damien Boussoukou-Boumba; and Mbomo (in Cuvette Ouest Department), where Jean Réné Matamaya, the initial winner, was to again face Léon Alfred Opimbat. There were a total of 22 candidates contesting the partial election: 16 of them in Kibangou, where the first round was held over again, and two in each of the other three constituencies, where the second round was being held over again. The Court rejected appeals for 15 other constituencies; these rejected appeals were from Jacques Mouanda Mpassi in Nkayi, Emmanuel Bongouanza in
Mossendjo
Mossendjo (can also be written as ''Mosenjo'' or ''Mosendjo'') is a town and a commune located in the Niari Department of the Republic of the Congo.
It is divided into 2 urban boroughs (''arrondissements''):
# Bouali
# Itsibou
Railways
The t ...
Moutamba
Moutamba is a town that is situated in Mossendjo, Niari, Republic of Congo.
Transport
It is served by a station on the Mbinda branch of the Congo-Ocean Railway.
See also
* Railway stations in Congo
Railway stations in the Republic of the ...
, Pierre Malonga in
Mbinda
Mbinda is a village in the Republic of Congo, lying on the border with Gabon. It is the administrative seat of the Mbinda District.
The village is a transport hub and lies at the end of a railway line to Brazzaville.
Overview
The town prospered ...
Makabana
Makabana is a small town in the south of the Republic of the Congo. It is the seat of the Makabana District in the Niari Department.
Transportation
Makabana is served by a station on the national railway network and by Makabana Airport.
Se ...
.
The government announced on 15 November that the election would be repeated in these four constituencies on 7 December. On 15 November, Antoine Evoundou was appointed as Director-General of Electoral Affairs, replacing the suspended Baboutila."Campagne pour les législatives partielles au Congo" Panapress (afriquenligne.fr), November 22, 2007 . Campaigning began on 22 November"Twenty-two candidates to contest by-elections in Congo" African Press Agency, November 23, 2007. and continued until December 5.
In Yamba and Kayes, the candidates of the PCT and the Union for the Republic (a party allied with the PCT) who were initially elected were confirmed, respectively, but in Mbomo, the initial winner from the MSD was beaten by Opimbat, the FDN candidate. A run-off was held in Kibangou on 26 December between the UDD candidate Pierre Damien Boussoukou-Boumba and Serge Victor Ignoumba, an independent. This final run-off was won by Ignoumba, who received 57.24% of the vote."Le 137ème député de l’Assemblée nationale congolaise pourvu" African Press Agency, December 29, 2007 .
Parliamentary election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...