Elections Provide First Opportunity for Democratic Expression Since 1965
LWF General Secretary Welcomes Independent Electoral Commission's Engagement with Religious Leaders
GENEVA, 14 July 2006 (LWI) - The General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, has welcomed the engagement of the Independent Electoral Commission with religious leaders, in the context of the upcoming elections on July 30 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In a 14 July letter to the DRC President, His Excellency Joseph Kabila, the LWF General Secretary stresses the importance of promoting electoral awareness. He asks President Kabila "to encourage and facilitate to the maximum extent possible the involvement of religious leaders in this enormous public education challenge."
In a country in which many social institutions have been destroyed or weakened by conflict, Noko says he believes religious leaders in the DRC have an unrivalled potential to educate and equip voters to exercise their democratic rights responsibly.
These elections will provide the first opportunity for the democratic expression of the will of the Congolese people since 1965, Noko writes. In the meantime, the country has been torn apart by conflict. During the years of civil war since 1996, an estimated 4 million lives are thought to have been claimed either by violence or by attendant hunger and disease. This is a calamity, he writes, that is widely considered to have been "the most lethal conflict anywhere in the world since World War II." The elections at the end of July, therefore, represent "a precious opportunity to restore democracy, to hasten the rehabilitation of the country, and to re-build the foundations for a peaceful future in the DRC."
According to Noko, President Kabila and his transitional administration have a heavy responsibility to ensure a peaceful, free and fair electoral process. Noko offers his prayers that the president might find strength for this task, and that the Congolese people will be inspired and enabled to grasp this historic opportunity. In particular, Noko asks that the president "continue to exercise strong leadership for the establishment of a political culture in which a political opponent is not seen as an enemy, and in which the best interests of the nation are a broadly shared concern."
Even the most successful election process, satisfying all the criteria of freedom and fairness, would be but a small step in a much longer journey, the general secretary writes. He assures the president of the commitment of the LWF, and of the Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA) network, to accompany the Congolese people "until the destination is reached." IFAPA is a continent-wide network of inter-faith groups and religious leaders from all of the major faith traditions represented in Africa, which are committed to working together for peace there. Since its inception in October 2002 IFAPA has seen the DRC as a major focus of its common work, explains Noko, the current convenor of IFAPA.
The LWF, of which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo has been a member since 1986, carries out humanitarian relief work within the framework of its Department for World Service Rwanda/DRC country program as well as development programs in the eastern provinces of the DRC. (530 words)
More information about the LWF Department for World Service country program in Rwanda/DRC can be found on the LWF Web site at: www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/DWS/Country_Programs/DWS-Rwanda-DRC.html
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of 66.2 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]
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