Congo opposition figure Bemba warns of 'chaos' if vote fraud

2018-09-11 22:48 Last Updated At：22:50

A top Congo opposition figure who is barred from December's presidential election is warning that "chaos" will follow if the vote is not transparent and fair.

Former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, days before his sentencing at the International Criminal Court after being convicted of interfering with witnesses.

Congo's electoral commission rejected him as a candidate in the Dec. 23 election, calling the witness interference synonymous with corruption. Congolese law prevents people convicted of corruption from running for the presidency.

Bemba accused both the commission and the Constitutional Court, which last week upheld the commission's decision, of being under "full control" of the government of President Joseph Kabila, who after two years of deadly unrest amid the long-delayed election has said he will step aside.

"They just screwed me, they used the court to screw me, they made a big confusion," said Bemba, whose father was close to former longtime leader Mobutu Sese Seko and who finished second to Kabila in the 2006 election.

Bemba also said he expects Congo's opposition to rally behind a joint candidate to challenge Kabila's preferred one but did not say who it should be: "I don't know, frankly." He has said it would have been him.

Bemba did not directly answer the question of whether he is out of the race for good.

He warned that the December election "will not be fair and credible if we don't do something to re-establish the credibility of the process," and he said that "today is another kind of struggle, that we need to restore democracy."

Whoever wins the Dec. 23 vote takes over a vast country with trillions of dollars' worth of mineral wealth but with dozens of armed groups battling for a part of it.

Bemba became a surprise presidential contender after ICC appeals judges in June acquitted him of war crimes committed by his Movement for the Liberation of Congo forces in neighboring Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003. He then returned to Congo, where he remains a senator, after more than a decade away.

"Bitter, not at all," he said of his decade away. "Of course the last 10 years was an opportunity to think about my country." Congo's situation is worse than when he left, he said.

Opposition parties have accused Kabila's government of blocking some top candidates from running for president. Congolese authorities blocked another top contender, Moise Katumbi, from entering the country to register as a candidate. Felix Tshisekedi, the candidate for the largest opposition party, remains eligible.

Kabila, whose mandate ended in late 2016 and by law cannot run again, has chosen a candidate with a recently formed coalition, former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. The opposition worries Kabila will continue to assert his influence even as one of Africa's most turbulent nations faces what could be its first peaceful, democratic transfer of power.

The United States was among those praising Kabila for his decision to step aside but it warned that Congo's electoral commission must "take all steps necessary" to guarantee a free and fair vote.

Congo's government has blamed the election delay on the difficulties of organizing a vote. The opposition and some in the international community, including the United States, are objecting to the planned use of electronic voting machines despite warnings from watchdog groups that transparency and credibility could suffer.

In response, Congo's government has declared it will fund the election itself.

"The election now, they want one candidate to win," Bemba said Tuesday. "But that is not a democracy."

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US Open: How to watch, who's playing and the betting favorites

Shinnecock Hills is the only golf club to host the U.S. Open over three centuries. In the five previous championships, only three players have finished under par.

That's what awaits Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and the rest of the field for the 126th edition of golf's second-oldest championship. And if they are not on edge about the toughest test in golf, the USGA might be.

The last two U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills are remembered for more than just the winners. The greens were so firm and fast in 2004 officials had to spray water on the seventh green between groups because golf balls wouldn't stay on the putting surface. The greens and pin positions were so severe in 2018 that none of the last 45 players to tee off in the third round broke par.

What awaits this year? The USGA is promising to let Shinnecock Hills be itself, with the hope that the wind and the course is enough to identify the best player.

Here's what you need to know going into the U.S. Open:

The 126th edition of the U.S. Open is June 18-21. Dating to 1976, the U.S. Open plays the final round on Father's Day. The lone exception, except for a Monday playoff, was in 2020 when the U.S. Open was held in September because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There will be wall-to-wall coverage when the U.S. Open starts Thursday, a total of of 47 hours.

It begins at 6:30 a.m. Thursday on USA Network and goes to 5 p.m., when Peacock takes over until 8 p.m. The second round Friday starts on Peacock from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with NBC Sports picking it up until 7 p.m. and then another hour on Peacock.

USA Network is the channel Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, and then NBC until 8 p.m. Coverage of the final round will start at 9 a.m. on USA Network until noon, and then NBC takes it to the conclusion.

The 156-man field has everyone from 17-year-olds Miles Russell and Giuseppe Puebla — Nos. 1 and 2 in the American junior ranking — to 54-year-old Padraig Harrington, who qualified as the U.S. Senior Open champion.

The USGA is saving seven spots for late qualifiers. When the field is set, it is likely to have about 68 players who had to go through 36-hole qualifying and 88 players who were exempt through various categories. It remains the major that requires the most players to qualify.

Scheffler is the favorite at every major as the No. 1 player in the world for three straight years, and the winner of three of the last 10 majors. BetMGM Sports book has him at +550, followed by Masters champion Rory McIlroy at +1000.

They are followed by Jon Rahm (+1200), Cameron Young (+1800) and Bryson DeChambeau (+2000).

All eyes will be on Scheffler, who can become the seventh player to complete the career Grand Slam if he wins the U.S. Open. This will be his first chance at that. In the modern era of the slam that dates to 1960, Tiger Woods is the only player to get the last leg on his first try.

Scheffler got into this position by winning the PGA Championship and British Open last year.

A victory by Xander Schauffele would give golf three active players with three legs of the Grand Slam. Schauffele already has won the PGA Championship and the British Open. Jordan Spieth has every major but the PGA Championship. The other would be Scheffler.

For everyone else, a U.S. Open champion gets the Jack Nicklaus gold medal, a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Open, a five-year exemption to the other three majors and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour. The prize money hasn't been announced, but last year the winner received $4.3 million.

Just like the other three majors, the format is 72 holes of stroke play. If there is a tie between two or more players at the end of regulation, there will be a two-hole aggregate playoff, and if it's still tied, a sudden-death playoff after that.

The two-hole system has never been used. In fact, there hasn't been a playoff at the U.S. Open since Tiger Woods defeated Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines in 2008. It's the longest any major has currently gone without a playoff.

Yes. The top 60 players and ties advance to the weekend. The U.S. Open used to include anyone within 10 shots of the lead, but that was scrapped in 2012.

A long one. Shinnecock Hills dates to 1891 when members of the Shinnecock tribe were paid to help shape the golf course. The current design was by William Flynn in 1931 when the club obtained more property. But it's claim is the oldest golf club in America that never moved off its original site.

Shinnecock Hills hosted the second U.S. Open in 1896, and then waited 90 years for another one. It is the only golf club to host the U.S. Open in the 19th, 20th and 21st century.

New York has the richest history of U.S. Opens. Shinnecock Hills will host it for the sixth time, tied for most in the Empire State with Winged Foot. The other New York courses that have held the U.S. Open are Oak Hill (three times), Bethpage Black (twice), Fresh Meadow, Inwood, Country Club of Buffalo and Garden City Club. That's a total of 21 times the U.S. Open has been in New York.

A few showers are in the forecast for parts of Thursday and Sunday, and temperatures should be on the pleasant side. Key to the forecast is the wind, which is expected to be about 15 mph for most of the week. That's all Shinnecock Hills needs to challenge the best players.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Congo opposition figure Bemba warns of 'chaos' if vote fraud