Four Congolese opposition leaders have written the South African governing party, the ANC, expressing displeasure over its official – Janet Love – for joining a crusade to legitimze a fraudulent electoral process under the auspices of the CENI ahead of the polls on December 20, 2023.
Moise Katumbi, leader of Ensemble pour la République (Together for the Republic), Martin Fayulu of Ecide, Delly Sesanga and former prime minister Augustin Matata Mpon have penned a strong letter dated May 19, 2023 denouncing Love.
The letter is addressed to ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula and is copied to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa who is also leader of the governing party.
The quartet state that Love, a former parliamentarian and vice
president of the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa, has joined hands with CENI to cook up figures in the Congolese voter register.
“We write to express our grave concern regarding the behavior of Ms. Janet Love an umportant
member of your party and South African institutions. Ms. Love has helped legitimize the
fraudulent fabrication of an electoral register by Mr. Kadima, the President of the National
Electoral Commission (CENI), for this year’s elections,” they state.
Katumbi, Fayulu, Sesanga and Matata state that while South Africa is committed to promoting democracy within its boundaries, it was dismaying that its high-ranking officials like Ms. Love were endorsing a chaotic electoral process in the DRC.
“It is important to note that civil socicty, the Catholic and Protestant churches, the entire political class, and all the people of DRC except the ruling government, reject this approach and view it as a masquerade only benefiting those in in power.
“The International Organization of Francophonie (OIE) has refused to
conduct an audit of Mr. Kadima’s electoral register, citing the conditions set by the CENI as untenable. Additionally
international partners are also calling for an external and independent audit. Regrettably, the other Congolese stakcholders have been entirely excluded from the process. Due to the lack of transparency surrounding the voter’s register, we have set prerequisites for the audit,
which must be conducted by a reputable international firm,” they state.
Katumbi, Fayulu, Matata and Sesanga state that the opposition have outlined the prerequisites for CENI which include providing a detailed explanation to all stakeholders of how it both compiled and verified the electoral register.
They demand full disclosure of the number of electoral kits ordered specifying the supporting materials, the number of kits placed and available in all the enrollment centers.
Further, the opposition is demanding the publication of the operational area reports after the closure of the registration process and the publishing of the provisional lists of voters by center, constituency, and province on the official CENI website
In the absence of the foregoing, the opposition asserts that by scheming to align herself with a questionable process under Mr. Kadima, Ms. Janet Love was aiding and abbetting a deceitful process which action was not only tarnishing her own image, but also that of the respected South African electoral commission and that country’s democratic reputation.
“How can a serious organization or person audit an electoral register of 47 million [people] of a country with a size of 2,345,000 square kilometers in 5 days? This is to compromise the long freedom fight for democracy and liberty of South Africa. For us it looks like someone wants to undermine the legacy of Nobel Prize winner, President Mandela and kill him for a second time,” they state.
The opposition leaders argue that a reliable voter’s register is the first step to guarantee a credible elections that Congolese need in order to foster peace and liberty in their own country.
Fayulu, Katumbi, Sesanga and Matata state that a credible, free, fair and inclusive election will help the DRC head into the right direction for its
development which in turn will spiral into a positive contribution to the prosperity of the continent.
“We therefore urge you, Mr. Secretary General, to intervene and put an end to this charade. It is crucial for the peace and security of the DR Congo – which is already significantly undermined as well as for the reputation of our sub-regional community and wider continent,” they add.
The DRC is scheduled to go to the polls in December but the opposition has questioned the chaotic voter registration process and are demanding a transparent audit of the register to restore the credibility of the process.
