All Africa Conference of Churches
www.aacc-ceta.org
Tel: 254 - 20 - 4441483, 4441338/9 " Fax: 254 - 20- 4443241, 4445835 " Email: secretariat@aacc-ceta.org General Secretariat: Waiyaki Way, P.O. Box 14205 , 00800 Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), Rev. Dr. Mvume Dandala sent a message to the incumbent President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mr Joseph Kabila congratulating him and the DRC government for holding peaceful presidential and general elections on 30th July 2006.
In his letter, Rev. Dandala said the AACC was encouraged by the large voter turnout and the general atmosphere of peace which prevailed during the elections.
Noting that the elections marked a turning point for the country, the letter made appeal that elections losers to accept election results when they would be announced and not react in such a manner that would plunge the country back into conflict.
Rev. Dandala also appealed to Africa countries and the rest of the international community to support DRC and its people to rebuild their country.
The full text of the letter is given below:
"We wish to express our sincere appreciation to you and your government for skillfully organizing the recent presidential and general elections despite daunting challenges.
We were encouraged by the large voter turn out of your people to demonstrate their sense of civic duty and the general atmosphere of peace, which prevailed. This happened despite the fact that DRC has not held such elections for 40 years and that in much of the period DRC was plunged in a cauldron of wars
As you may be aware, the AACC, teaming up with our member churches in your country, accompanied your people all through the period of Inter-Congolese Dialogue for the search for peace to date. You may or may not be aware of the role we played in assisting the churches with Voter Education Programmes and Voter Election Monitoring. This is why we have reason to express our appreciation for the elections. We wish to assure you that the accompaniment will continue.
We view the elections as marking a turning point after the prolonged pain that your people have endured. The pain included the loss of four million lives, taking a terrible human toll on the Congolese.
The impressive voter-turn out indicated that the Congolese would want to see democracy work for them. This presents a challenge to leaders and election candidates to ensure that the expectations of the people are matched with a realization of a new era of peace and progress.
We humbly pray and hope that when the results are announced:
" The election winners will not assume that they are indebted only to those who voted for them but that the people's mandate is to provide leadership and service to all. " The election losers will not react in a manner that would plunge DRC back to the abyss of death and darkness but appreciate that in any elections there are winners and losers. However, there will be another opportunity to try again after only five years compared to the last 40 years of hurting and bleeding. " A section of the international community will be reminded that the rip-off of blood fortunes from DRC must be stopped to give the Congolese time to recover from that sad perversity of human nature.
The success of the elections is not an end of the struggles of the Congolese but opens the door for a new future. Accordingly, we call upon the international community and African countries to rise up in solidarity and in support of the people of DRC to reconstruct their country and rebuild their nationhood. It is further our hope that religious leaders will use this time and space to build viable moral foundations for the Congolese society.
We look forward to a future when the people of DRC will benefit from their God-given natural wealth, which ironically, has been the main source of their untold suffering."