KINSHASA, DR Congo
Tens of thousands of candidates, including the 26 candidates running for the highest office, officially launched a month-long election campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, in a tense political climate and against the backdrop of armed conflict in the east.
Opposition heavyweights did
not hesitate to motivate their bases, while President Félix Tshisekedi, who is
seeking a second term in office, held a series of inaugurations as his team
trumpeted his achievements in a wide range of fields.
Félix Tshisekedi himself saw
things through from day one, with a meeting at the Martyrs' stadium in
Kinshasa, while one of his main challengers, Martin Fayulu, harangued the
crowds in a neighbouring province.
On December 20th, some 44
million registered voters out of a population of around 100 million will be
called upon to elect their president, as well as choosing from over 100
thousand candidates for the legislative provincial and municipal elections.
A record, according to the
Electoral Commission, which is determined to organize the elections on time,
despite logistical difficulties in the country of 2.3 million squared km with
very limited infrastructure.
"There is a political
agenda that wants elections to be held on time, but there are doubts about
technical capacity," notes Trésor Kibangula, a political analyst at the
Ebuteli research institute.
Sylvain Lesoye, a priest
interviewed in a commune on the outskirts of Kinshasa, believes that "from
an organizational point of view, the Céni does not inspire confidence",
referring in particular to the poor quality of voters' cards, whose inscriptions
and photos have faded.
"The Céni knows that this
is a challenge it must take up; its credibility is at stake," says
political scientist Jean-Luc Kong. "What's frightening is the crisis in
the east," he says.
Violence by armed groups has
been going on for almost 30 years in the region, which is experiencing a peak
in crisis with the return to the scene of a former rebellion (the M23),
supported by neighboring Rwanda, which has seized large swathes of North Kivu.
Because of the conflict, two
territories in the province will not be able to vote normally, but if the
provincial capital, Goma, were to fall itself, the whole process would be
compromised.
The M23 "will not take
Goma", asserts Félix Tshisekedi, who had made the return of peace a
priority, while also pledging to improve the daily lives of the Congolese
people, diversify the economy, build roads and public buildings, and respect freedom
of the press and expression.
The overall picture is mixed,
according to analysts, and catastrophic according to the opposition, which
paints a gloomy picture of the situation and immediately cries organized fraud.
In addition to Martin Fayulu,
who claims victory was stolen from him in 2018, the main opposition candidates
are Moïse Katumbi, former governor of the Katanga mining region, Dr Denis
Mukwege, winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of raped
women, and two former prime ministers.
Representatives of five of
them met this week in South Africa to discuss the possibility of a joint
candidacy against the incumbent president, who is the favourite, especially in
a single-round election.
A coalition was formed, and a
common program adopted, but only by the emissaries of four candidates, as the
Fayulu camp did not sign up to the project.
Voters are divided on the
value of voting.
Eunice, 20, a geography
student, will be voting for the first time and says she is "happy" to
do so for the candidate of her choice, whom she expects to "improve living
conditions".
As for Ezekiel, another
24-year-old student in business computing, he's disillusioned. There will be
"fraud, just like in 2018", he says. Besides, "I'm not going to
waste my time at the voting centre".
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