| I've never thought of the Congolese as being a particularly bright folk, but I'd have been pretty surprised had the majority marked "Chaos" as their preferred outcome. Constitutions are just swell, as long as they're adhered to. |
 Voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo have overwhelmingly chosen to adopt a new post-war constitution that paves the way for national elections next year, according to referendum results announced on Saturday. With counting completed from nearly three-quarters of polling stations after last Sunday's poll, the "Yes" vote had won 83% and the "No" vote nearly 17%, the Independent Electoral Commission said.
| 17 percent of Congolese, it turns out, actually do prefer chaos... |
The vote on whether to accept the proposed constitution was the first independent election to be held in the Congo for more than 40 years of dictatorship, wars and chaos. Apollinaire Malu Malu, president of the commission, told reporters that the electoral body was still counting the remaining votes and said the Supreme Court would have to certify the final results and deal with any complaints. But as the results stood so far, the "Yes" vote lead seemed unassailable. |