Africa

DR Congo set for presidential elections in December

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is poised for presidential elections scheduled for 20 December 2023.

By Foreign Correspondent | Monday, November 6, 2023

This week, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) officially announced that it had registered 26 Presidential candidates, among them President Félix Tshisekedi, who seeks a second term.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is poised for presidential elections scheduled for 20 December 2023.

This week, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) officially announced that it had registered 26 Presidential candidates, among them President Félix Tshisekedi, who seeks a second term.

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DRC has a complex political landscape with other top contenders including opposition leader Martin Fayulu, former Katanga governor and wealthy businessman Moïse Katumbi, Nobel Peace Prize-winning gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, and former prime minister Adolphe Muzito.

NAIROBI, KENYA - SEPTEMBER 13: President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi (L) attends Kenya's fifth president William Ruto's inauguration ceremony at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya on September 13, 2022. Billy Mutai / Anadolu Agency (Photo by Billy Mutai / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu via AFP)

However, there are growing doubts about the country's readiness to conduct these elections within the next seven weeks. There is increasing uncertainty about the election’s feasibility.

Presidential candidate Martin Fayulu casts his vote at the Insititut de la Gombe polling station during the DR Congo's general elections in Kinshasa on 30 December 2018. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)

CENI President Denis Kadima has said the commission did not have the budget to successfully conduct the election. The war raging in the troubled region of eastern DRC excludes any possibility of any election taking place there, potentially disenfranchising over a million voters.

Democratic Republic of Congo's Nobel Peace Prize winner and gynaecologist Denis Mukwege addresses supporters in Kinshasa, on 2 October 2023. (Photo by Arsene Mpiana / AFP)

In the 2018 tumultuous election, Tshisekedi was controversially declared the winner, despite widespread views that Fayulu had won.

On the humanitarian front, the DRC is grappling with a protracted and intricate crisis. The nation has endured decades of conflict, with more than 200 armed groups operating in the eastern part of the country.

Former Congolese Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito Fumutshi pictured during a press conference of the Congolese parties forming the Lamuka Coalition, 23 March 2019 in Brussels. (Photo by NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)

A record 6.9 million people are internally displaced within the Democratic Republic of Congo due to escalating violence, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Most of those affected are in the east, with conflict as the primary cause. In North Kivu, a million people have fled their homes this year due to ongoing conflict with M23 rebels.

This crisis is one of the world's largest displacement and humanitarian challenges, warns the UN.