Democratization process and political elites in D.R. of Congo

Résumé du document

Remember quickly that the Congo has lived from 1968, under a system of one-party, Marxist-Leninist which was dominated by soldiers. The National Conference, from February to June 1991, reinstated the multi-party system. The year 1992, created a situation of political turmoil who was dominated by urban guerrillas. The established political order, after the National Conference, proved to be rather the expression of a certain type of factionalism, based on three powerful parties associated with the local militias.

In 1992, following various (municipal, legislative and presidential elections) responsible for developing a multi-party system, three parties in twenty apply widely in winning more than 70% of the vote: the PAUSD (Pan-African Union for Social Democracy) of P.Lissouba, CMDID (Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development) by B.Kolélas and the CLP (Congolese Labor Party) the former single party, led by D. Sassou-Nguess. (F. Weissman, 1993)

These parties control the following militias: the Governmental Reserve, the Zulu, the Mamba, the Ninja and the Cobra. The first three support the PAUSD; the Ninja support the CMDID and the Cobra, the CLP. These militias were fighting on two occasions: in 1993-1994, which followed the dissolution of the National Assembly, and, in 1997, on the eve of the elections marking the end of the first term to reinstitute a multiparty system.

Extraits

[...] In this case, they insist on the non-renewal of the political class. The second design indicates how the governed justify their choice that is acting according to the constraints of the present: the leaders past's becomes a resource for them. It would be interesting to reside on this dual dimension but it would exceed my research. My research sufficient to indicate the complexity of the notion of the time and to the historical genesis of the resources identified in the literature showing specifically what the configuration of the past should influence the present actors. [...]

[...] That indicates a gradual transformation of the system of political rules. In this sense, the seniority of the political elites refers to a complex social reality, because it refers to an articulation of political experiences of governments that refer to several temporalities. The governed comply, too, with the same political rules. In this research that I started on the Congolese elite, I have highlighted the "routes of legitimacy", common to the rulers where sustained violence appears as a fundamental dimension for the rally in his favor. [...]

[...] Kolélas, president of the CMDID, entered the political field in the 50s. He joined the party of the first President of Congo from 1960 to 1963. Bernard Kolélas led the youth movement of the party which controlled an illegal "militia". The latter became famous in the repression of January 1956. With the fall of the latter in 1963, Kolélas objected to the new socialist political system put in place. In 1969, he attempted a coup with a group armed from Kinshasa. [...]

[...] It gave satisfaction to the monopoly that "legitimated" violence in the army. In January 1992, pretexting overdue wages, a part of the military, under the direction of their High Commander, mutinied and attempted a coup d 'état; for the first time, barricades erected in the southern districts of Brazzaville, forced the army to give up. These barricades were organized by small groups of young people who distinguished themselves at the National Conference and regrouped within a political trend called "Forces of change". [...]

[...] The actual journey of violence is accompanied by a redefinition, partial or complete of the political experience and social society, on the one hand and on the other hand, this situation constituted a high importance for the Congo case. This passage establishes the reinterpretation or the enlargement of the effects, in a number of social practices that go beyond their own domain to invade the political field. They are then widely disseminated, hammered by the propaganda apparatus. To recognize how, in situations of violence, political leaders embody dynamics. [...]