Multiple Negotiations In The Pipe…

Six months to the 2023 Presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the different actors are leaving no stone unturned to make sure logistics, legal, health and security challenges threatening the holding of election are well address by the different stakeholders. Among the numerous actors who have been making news headline are;

National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) 
On November 26, 2022, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), made public the date of the next elections. According to the electoral calendar, Presidential election will take place on December 20, 2023. Even though the release of the electoral calendar was a sigh of relief as regards the respect of constitutional deadlines, the electoral process is on the right track. Headed by Denis Kadima Kazadi, the Commission has the huge task of organizing the elections. Over 45 million voters are expected to the poll come December 20, 2023. To avoid the problems encountered during the previous elections that led to its postponement for two years, the CENI is not only expected to make sure the December 20 rendezvous is respected, but also assure Congolese that, the election will take place “within the constitutional deadlines.” After the registration of voters, issuing of voters cards and updating the electoral register with the aid of “external audit”, based on which the “distribution of seats”, in Parliament was done and promulgated on June 15, 2023, it is now time for members of the CENI to make sure all those in other countries like, South Africa, Belgium, France, Canada and the USA are able to vote. This is followed by the deployment of staff and voting equipment to all the centers. The pace of their activities would highly depend on the security situation of the country. Since the start of the process, many armed groups like the M23 have been hindering the progress of their mission especially in the east of the country.

Presidential Majority
Members of the Presidential majority are virtually ready for the December 20 Presidential Election. During the launching of their party activities, six members of the “presidium of the Sacred Union of the Nation”, including the Prime Minister and the Presidents of the two chambers of Parliament, mounted the rostrum to reiterate their support for the candidacy of incumbent Felix Tshisekedi for a second term. The presentation of the Sacred Union of the Nation came a month after the reshuffling of the government. Two new personalities in the political coalition are, Minister of Defense, Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former warlord sentenced to 18 years in prison by the International Criminal Court for crimes in the Central African Republic before being acquitted on appeal in 2018, after 10 years of imprisonment, and his colleague from the Economy, Vital Kamerhe, former chief of staff of President Tshisekedi, sentenced in 2020 to 20 years in prison for embezzlement before being acquitted on appeal in 2022. The Sacred Union of the Nation put in place by President Tshisekedi in December 2020, after taking over from his predecessor Joseph Kabila, now has more than 500 political parties. Even though two Ministers belonging to ...