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DRC: Post-Election Roundup

Alice Backer · 20:34 · Sub-Saharan Africa

“A Peaceful Election”

DRC Election
Congolese at the polls. Photo by Federico, courtesy of Extra Extra.

By and large, the voting has ended in the DRC, according to The Salon:

With the exception of the three towns that had to continue/report the voting for today, due to numerous arsons (Mbuji-mayi, Mweka and Mwene-ditu), all the voting stations have closed, and most have already finished the counting processes, and published their individual results. However the Electoral commission have put a moratorium on partial results, to allow the 3 aforementioned towns to vote without undue pressure.

Extra Extra writes:

All the people who were quite coy in recent weeks when asked whether they would vote are now coming up to me with a grin to say proudly ‘Moi, j’ai voté hier’ (I voted yesterday). One added that when standing in the queue, she told a man off for telling his wife who to vote for.

There were some caveats however as the blogger explained:

There have been a few instances where people arrived to discover that someone else had voted in their name. Just an honest mistake, one has to hope. Most people had voted by 4pm, remarkably.

The Salon had explanations for the incidents that did get reported:

The reported incidents were in Tshisekedi's stronghold. These were people decided to stop the polls from going forward.

In a post significantly titled “Peaceful Elections”, Friends of the Congo echoed much of what The Salon and Extra Extra had to say:

The Friends of the Congo observation delegation in Kinshasa reported that the voting in Kinshasa was peaceful as it was in much of the country. The main disturbances took place in the Kasai province where supporters of Etienne Tshisekedi boycotted the elections and prevented voters from going to the polls. Tshisekedi's supporters set ablaze trucks carrying ballots as well as polling stations. The Independent Electoral Commission had to extend voting to a second day in Kasai because of the disruptions on Sunday.

My Heart's In Accra counted the election as one of the UN's low-profile successes.

Alleged Kidnapping of Candidate's Security Guards by Kabila

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China: reticence: would-be lesbians, corporate executives and urban journalists

John Kennedy · 09:02 · East Asia

Ever wonder why there was no male version of 2004's smash television phenomenon Super Girl? While a lesbian conspiracy might have made for better Communist Party PR positioning than news of yet another great initiative cut down by state censorship, super-adrogynous and super-popular Super Girl winner Li Yuchun's queer image did at lot to help turn female homosexuality from a taboo subject into something people, albeit mainly young, idolize and, as seen in a post this past week from Ycul blogger MJ, sometimes even fantasize about:

几年前,我去过一个拉拉聚会.要解释一下,并不是我喜欢女人,那次是和另两个女朋友去的,她们一个是写论文研究这个的,另一个和我一样,是去看热闹的.全场只有我们几个,不属于这个团体,纯是好奇.
当时我有少少的沮丧,因为没有拉拉看上我啦.被男人看上没什么可炫耀的,被女人看上才有成就感!成就感!!!!人活着难道不是为了自我实现麽?拉拉喜欢的要么是很帅很阳光的,要么是很媚的,像我们这种没有特点\没有姿色的,只好做壁花了.
虽然有过女人喜欢我,但完全是因为这个博客,这种喜爱是建立在灵魂领域的,比如某篇文章让她们想起了她们前男友什么的,和肉体无关.可是我多希望有女人喜爱我的肉身,而不只是轻飘飘的灵魂呀.

A few years ago, I went to a dyke party. Let me explain. It's not that I like women; that time I went with two other girlfriends. One of them is doing her dissertation on this and the other, like me, just went to see some excitement. In the whole place there were just the three of us not part of their group, there purely out of curiosity. At the time I was a little discouraged, because no dykes were cruising me. Being cruised by a man is nothing worth bragging about, but being cruised by a woman signifies success! Success!!!! Don't people live for self-fulfillment? Dykes either like very handsome and sunny types, or else very femme and flirty. Nothing special about people like us, no pretty looks. So we just made like wallflowers. Although there have been women who have been into me, but only because of this blog. This kind of affection is built up in the spiritual domain. For example, some posts remind them of their ex-boyfriends or something, nothing to do with flesh. But do I ever wish women would like me for my body and not just my flighty spirit…

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This Week In Palestinian Blogs: World On Fire

Naseem Tarawnah · 00:49 · Middle East & North Africa

While the flames of war engulf Lebanon, Gaza is still under attack. Many of the victims have been Palestinian children, some barely a year old; and as their families prepare to burry them Haitham Sabbah asks the fundemental question: “How shall we forget? How shall we forgive?”

As sound of artillery shells resonated from the nearby Al-Magazi refugee camp, Mona El-Farra overhears one of the girls at the children’s center in the Nusseirat camp say: “Nobody can stop me from dreaming, nobody should take my dreams away.”

Mona has been touring the camps and hospital emergency rooms in Gaza the last few days with many stories to tell; stories of sadness , of freedom and of resilient children of Gaza whose dreams continue to dance.

Laila El-Haddad still finds it difficult to blog from the U.S. especially when the news from back home has been mixed. While her in-laws have fled to Syria her father’s cousin in Gaza tells her that with no electricity in the area people can eat only what they cook the same day as lack of refrigeration and sweltering summer heat add to the already accumulating frustration. Meanwhile Fida, Laila’s activist friend from Gaza, writes her an email along with some photos of the Rafah crossing: “I came back and thought I can do some thing , but the Israelis destroyed more and killed more , and now in Rafah a lot live in the schools after they lost there houses.”
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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

Salam Adil · 00:46 · Middle East & North Africa

With all the war and suffering I just don't feel like blogging. But todays post is important and I feel it is my duty to write it.

If you read no other blog post this week read this

Caesar of Pentra writes of the numbing pain and screaming anger at the loss of his close friends to the random violence in Iraq:

Then I decided to call Baghday’s dad again waiting for more good news about his progress!
But I was surprised when an unfamiliar voice answered
Me: “I’m just asking about Baghday, how is he?!”
The Guy: “I’m his cousin, Baghday has donated his life for you!” which means that Baghday’s gone!
I can’t remember then but a loud sharp wailing screech. (more…)

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