The DR Congo government says it cannot promise holding of an election free of flaws and irregularities ahead of the upcoming 20 December 2023 General Elections.
With less than two months before the country goes to the polls, several opposition candidates have come out strongly calling on the electoral commission, CENI to ensure a free and fair electoral process is held following irregularities committed in past elections.
However, government through spokesperson and Minister of Communications Patrick Muyaya says it is illusional to expect a flawless electoral process in the DR Congo.
“It is illusory to expect perfect elections in 1000% given their attitude [opposition candidates] towards CENI” Muyaya said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
Muyaya has blamed the opposition candidates’ insistence for an all inclusive and fair election as the reason the CENI would fail to deliver a flawless electoral process.
“No wonder, as I said previously, I have the impression that the opposition is preparing more to contest the elections than to prepare for them,
It is essential to place the organization of elections in a evolving context. In 2006, we organized our first pluralist elections, and since then, 17 years have passed.”
Meanwhile, Muyaya also pointed out the various challenges faced by CENI that could pose as a threat to an incident free election.
“We are on the verge of reaching a certain level of maturity, but it is essential to remember that the organization of elections in a country the size of ours, with infrastructure problems and almost 100,000 candidates on the same day, is a challenge well known to these opponents” Muyaya added.
