In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), presidential, parliamentary, provincial and local elections began on December 20, 2023 and continued on December 21 due to delays or closures of polling stations. A situation to which several election observation missions returned this Thursday. Details.
Published on: December 21, 2023 – 8:37 p.m
3 mins
From our special correspondent in Kinshasa,
THE general elections continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo) beyond the date of December 20, 2023: certain polling stations that were closed on Wednesday actually opened their doors 24 hours later, while others completed counting operations that had begun the previous day this Thursday.
Read also: Elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo: In Kinshasa, the laborious work of agents is responsible for counting and comparing the results
In Kinshasa, on December 21, several Election Observation Missions (MOE) published their preliminary report on this vote to appoint the country's president, national and provincial deputies and local councilors.
The mission of the National Bishops' Conference of the Congo (Cenco) and the Church of Christ in the Congo (ECC) currently prefers to limit itself to providing several figures. For example, the percentage (16) of polling stations (BV) that would have been installed in places – military academies/schools, places of worship, headquarters of political parties or groups – that are not provided for in the electoral law. A Cenco ECC mission also found that in almost 65% of the cases observed, the first-time voter in each office cast their vote at 6 a.m., the scheduled time for operations to begin.
The first trends revealed on December 22nd?
However, for the Synergy of Citizen Election Observation Missions (Symocel), another organization, more than half of the polling stations (BV) opened late on Wednesday (between 1 a.m. and 11 a.m. after the scheduled time). Symocel also ensures that, according to its estimates, 57% of offices followed voting procedures. Finally, she asserts that her “observers have become victims of aggression, entry bans and exclusion from counting in polling stations”.
Voting is scheduled to end this Thursday. For the National Youth Council (CNJ), which said it sent 45,000 observers to the occasion, a vote on Friday December 22nd also appears unlikely. “Already we are outside the law,” the CNJ said during a press conference. We recommended it to Céni yesterday [Commission électorale nationale indépendante, NDLR] Responsible care of Congolese citizens who wish to fulfill their civic duties. […] We believe that this comprehensive support of citizens, some of whom are still at the polls, is actually guaranteed by the CENI.”
A Céni who, for his part, claims to be able to announce the first trends of these elections from this Friday, despite the accumulated delay. Its second vice president, Didi Manara Linga, said this in an interview with the channel Top Congo: “It will be the first time in this country that the Ceni will publish the results of the elections two days after the vote.” »
Also read calls for current events – [Vos réactions] Parliamentary elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo at risk