The letter from Cardinal Frederick Etsou, read out at Masses in the capital July 23, came a day after the Catholic Bishops' Conference warned it might not recognize election results, saying fears of manipulation and fraud appear well-founded. Among concerns are the disappearance of 1.2 million names from the voters' roll -- due to a technical problem, according to the Independent Electoral Commission, which denies there are irregularities in the runup to the July 30 vote.

Half of Congo's 63 million people are Catholic and the church is about the only functioning institution in this country where the assassination of the first elected leader in 1960 was followed by decades of corrupt dictatorship. A civil war turned into regional war, killing some 4 million people.

Thirty-three candidates are running for president and 9,000 for legislative seats, but many are asking to have the campaign suspended until charges of campaign cheating, backed by several human rights groups, are investigated.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 29, 2006
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