DRC: several observation missions reveal contrasting reports on the general elections

The general elections continue in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) beyond the date of December 20, 2023: certain polling stations closed on Wednesday and opened their doors 24 hours later, while others finished this Thursday the counting operations started the day before.

The first trends were revealed on December 22.

On the other hand, for the Synergy of Citizen Election Observation Missions (Symocel), another organization, more than half of the polling stations (BV) opened late (between 1 a.m. and 11 a.m. after the scheduled time), on Wednesday. Symocel also ensures that, according to its estimates, 57% of offices respected the procedures for voting operations. Finally, she asserts that her “observers were victims of aggression, access bans and exclusion from counting operations at polling stations”.

A vote is supposed to end this Thursday. For the National Youth Council (CNJ), which claims to have deployed 45,000 observers for the occasion, voting on Friday, December 22 seems unlikely. “Already, we are beyond the law,” said the CNJ during a press conference. As of yesterday, we recommended to the Céni [Independent National Electoral Commission, Editor's note] to take responsible care of Congolese citizens who would like to fulfill their civic duties. […] We believe that this total support for citizens, some of whom are still in front of the polling stations, will indeed be ensured by the CENI.”

A Céni claims, for its part, to be able to give the first trends on these elections from this Friday, despite the accumulated delay. Its second vice-president, Didi Manara Linga, said this in an interview on the Top Congo station: “It will be the first time in this country that the Ceni will publish the results of the elections two days after the vote. »

In Kinshasa, several electoral observation missions (MOE) unveiled their preliminary report, this December 21, on this vote used to designate the president of the country, national and provincial deputies as well and municipal councilors.

The mission of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (Cenco) and the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) prefers, at this stage, 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, HQs of political parties or groups – not provided for by the electoral law. A Cenco-ECC mission also notes that in nearly 65% ​​of the cases observed, the first voter in each office voted at 6 a.m., the time scheduled for the start of operations.

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