US prods Congolese on vote despite suspension call

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) The United States today urged Congolese candidates in this month's landmark presidential vote to drop a call for a suspension of campaigning in a dispute over the printing of extra ballots.

More than half the candidates have said the printing and distribution of an additional 5 million ballot papers, which are meant to replace those that could be lost or destroyed, put the credibility and transparency of the July 30 poll at risk.

But Washington weighed into the controversy issuing a statement calling for the election to be held as scheduled.

''The momentum created by the electoral process ... must not be put at risk. Holding free and fair elections will complete the transition from war to peace,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.

While critics say the Bush administration has largely neglected Africa, it still has an influential voice on the continent and its diplomats generally prioritize supporting democracy in the region.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential and parliamentary vote would be the vast country's first free election in over 40 years.

The poll is meant to draw a line under Congo's last war, a 1998-2003 conflict that sucked in six neighboring countries and has killed 4 million people, mostly through hunger and disease.

Incumbent President Joseph Kabila is widely seen as the favorite but he has 32 challengers in a poll the UN says is the most complicated it has ever organized.

Reuters SY VP0023