On the eve of electing the next president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the electoral commission claims to have resolved the main logistical difficulties. This statement perplexes many observers. For both citizen organizations and the powerful Catholic Church, only the transparency of the voting process on December 20 and the recount will allow the winner to have legitimacy.
The scene has not surprised anyone for weeks. At 9 a.m. on December 18, under the already intense heat of the end of the rainy season, about 200 people were waiting for the opening of the CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission) office in Lemba, in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital.
Around 9:30 in the morning, the first to arrive were finally able to access the offices to obtain a precious sesame: a duplicate of their electoral card.
Nelphine, a local resident, had already been waiting for two hours. “The electoral card is like your identity card. You need it to go to the bank, to withdraw money. For those who depend on remittances from people in Europe or the United States, it is very important.”
Like millions of Congolese, his photo and identification number are completely erased from the original.
In a press release issued on Friday, December 15, five days before election day, the CENI encourages those who have not obtained a duplicate to go to their polling station anyway, where “they will be assisted by staff.”
“We have the right to vote,” Nelphine insists. “I want to go vote for my candidate and we want there to be peace of mind. If people do not have their card, no one will recognize the result of the elections. It is a serious problem,” she continues.
Between challenge and chaos
The organization of the December 20 elections has become a major problem for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many Congolese expected the postponement of the elections after CENI last week intensified its calls for operational support to the government, neighboring Angola and even Monusco, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Monusco, present in the east of the country for more than 20 years, with 12,500 peacekeeping soldiers, must leave the country shortly at the request of the Congolese Government.
With 2 days left, Denis Kadima, president of the CENI, is confident that the electoral material will be present in the 75,000 polling stations.
With a budget close to 1 billion dollars to organize this gigantic scrutiny, in which, in addition to deciding between 26 presidential candidates, thousands of national deputies, provincial deputies and local councilors will be elected, the CENI has had its setbacks.
In addition to the poor quality of the voter cards, the logistics required to transport thousands of tonnes of ballots and electronic counting machines by plane to a country of 2.5 million km2 (an area equivalent to two thirds of the EU) has been fragmented.
But “the real battle is the state of the roads,” says Luc Lutala, spokesperson for Symocel (Synergy of citizen electoral observation missions). More than the air resources made available to the CENI, he considers that ““The problem in the provinces is the transportation (of electoral material) between the 'hub' and the main cities of the territories.”
Upon his return from a field visit to Tshopo province, Lutala confirmed the presence of so-called “sensitive” material in Kisangani, the provincial capital and electoral “nerve center”, but questioned CENI's ability to get it to time to the main cities of the territories.
“We are facing a CENI that does not speak (…). If, in the final sprint, it mobilizes resources, it will be able to succeed. We have to believe that the CENI will keep its word (…). And when the day of the vote, we'll see what happens.”
Tens of thousands of observers
On Wednesday, December 20, Symocel, which brings together a dozen Congolese civil society associations, will deploy “22,000 observers on the ground, to cover more or less 80% of the voting places.”
Paul Kabeya, spokesperson for Regardcitoyen, another citizen organization, also claims to have “22,500 observers who have received training.” “The law allows any observer to be present at the local results compilation center and we will be there.”
Luc Lutala believes that the electoral campaign has been developed correctly. “It hasn't been the best of campaigns, but it hasn't been the worst either. Last week, several candidates denounced restrictions,” he points out.
“In Kinshasa, Martin Fayulu complained that he had been banned from entering the Martyrs' stadium. There have been altercations between supporters of one candidate or another, and more specifically between those of Félix Tshisekedi and those of Moïse Katumbi. militants and rallies have been broken up. There were also deaths.”
He believes that the lessons of the previous 2018 elections have not been learned, which gave victory to Félix Tshisekedi, the acting president who is running for a second term.
“In 2023, we obviously have the same problems as in 2018, but aggravated. We believe that there is a lack of planning, but also a lack of transparency so that all problems can be managed well in advance and in a much more professional way. We believe that there are real internal problems in the CENI's planning capacity,” he added.
In 2018, the observation missions of the electoral process and the vote count declared that their count was very different from the official CENI count. This gave the lead to Félix Tshisekedi, while observers pointed to a wide advantage for Martin Fayulu.
Fayulu, now a candidate again, continues to challenge the result of the last presidential elections.
Although they are authorized to supervise the count, observers cannot legally publish the vote count.
“Only the CENI will publish the provisional results, before the courts give the so-called definitive results, which are irrevocable,” explains Paul Kabeya. “Disputed results, results that do not create consensus, would be very bad news for the country. That is why we need good elections,” hopes Luc Lutala.
The Catholic Church, an important actor
In 2018, the Congolese Catholic Church also did not publish its own figures from its observation mission, but declared that “the analysis of the elements in its possession leads it to believe that the results of the presidential election do not correspond to the figures of its observers”.
With the influence it has exerted on the country's public life since its independence in 1960, The Church has sown persistent doubts about the credibility of the 2018 electoral process.
With 40,000 people mobilized this year (citizen observers, accredited observers and a battery of experts and analysts), “the objective is to observe the process with the intention of making recommendations. And the objective is to know the truth of the polls,” says Monsignor Donatien Nshole, secretary general of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo (Cenco) since February 2017.
“If things go well, there will be no contradiction between what the CENI publishes and what we observe. In that case, it will be our greatest contribution to the legitimacy of those who are going to be proclaimed elected. If there is a discrepancy, there will be a problem,” he explains from his office in Kinshasa.
On the walls, several photos recall the visit of Pope Francis in January-February 2023 to this country of almost 100 million inhabitants, 90% of them Christians.
At the Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa, the pontiff exclaimed: “Take your hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo: it is not a mine to be exploited nor a land to be stolen.” Following his words to President Félix Tshisekedi, the Archbishop of Kinshasa expressed his wish that “free, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections” are held.
On the eve of the elections, the Church intends to lend a hand once again. “In 2018, we asked the population to calm down and wait for the verdict of the Constitutional Court,” recalls Monsignor Nshole. “But this time, the bishops have sent another message: they ask voters not to leave the electoral college before the results are published. Because this is the fundamental stage.”
After the change in 2018, transparent elections in 2023?
With the social institutions that it directs in the fields of education and health, which often make up for the absence of the State, The Catholic Church has a voice that weighs all the more because it is present in the very heart of the country.
“The population is invited, in accordance with the Constitution, to peacefully defend its sovereignty in relation to the truth of the polls. Because the bishops are convinced that it is in the consolidation of democracy where the Congolese people will be placed at the center of the concerns of those in power,” continues Donatien Nshole.
In 2018, The election of Félix Tshisekedi marked the first democratic replacement without violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In 2023, the fundamental challenge will be to ensure that the elections are conducted correctly and that the vote count is transparent, so that the next president has the confidence and legitimacy he will need to face the immense challenges ahead.
In his parish of Saint-Charles-Lwanga, after mass, Abbe Richard urges his faithful to remain confident and pray. “I can only encourage them, it is a civic duty. I encourage those who commit to taking on roles in our country. I can only bless them as they move forward. What I hope is that there is no violence, because violence makes us go backwards.”
Starting at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Congolese will finally know if their prayers and spells will open the doors of the polling stations.. The results are expected to be announced on December 31, just before the New Year.
This report has been carried out with the participation of Ivan Kasongo, a journalist based in Kinshasa.
Adapted from its French original
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