In the words of Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi to the UN Human Rights Council session this week in Geneva, Switzerland: “The persistence of the war in the east of our country risks jeopardising the electoral process, which is already underway, due to a massive displacement of people from combat zones, the insecurity and inaccessibility of these areas.”
Reuters quoted Congolese and foreign electoral experts saying Congolese Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) could postpone the polls, whose timelines have been marred by delays.
This development gives credence to the view held by Rwandan President Paul Kagame that the Congolese leader is exploiting the insecurity in the restive east to defer the elections.
President Kagame said late last year that he believes the Congolese leadership is creating a security emergency a year before the country holds presidential elections in order to find a reason to postpone the elections scheduled for December 2023.
‘Use other excuses’
“This problem can be resolved if one country headed for elections next year is not trying to create an emergency so that the elections don’t take place, not that he won the first elections as we know. If he is trying to find another way of having the next elections postponed, then I would rather he uses other excuses, not us,” Kagame said, deflecting accusations by Kinshasa that he has been supporting the M23 rebels, a view also held by the UN and US.
President Tshisekedi also hinted to French President Emmanuel Macron that the situation in the east had the potential to cause election delay.
President Macron cautioned President Tshisekedi against flirting with the idea of delaying the election.
“If we want things to work, we have to build on trust, and that is to provide the means of trust,” he said.
President Macron also told President Tshisekedi to ensure that his government created a sense of neutrality in the electoral commission so that it organized an indisputable electoral process through a system of proper registration and organization.
“The vote must be organized to the best standards with international and regional observers deployed, including the religious community,” he said.
The DRC goes to the polls on December 20 but President Tshisekedi and the ruling party want to delay the polls claiming unrest in North Kivu, the eastern parts of the country.
Credit: Additional Reporting East Africa Standard
