Sixty-two Congolese and foreign organizations alert on the delay that the Organization takes while the Electoral Commission denounces a lack of means.
Le Monde with AFP
Seventy-two Congolese and foreign organizations alerted, Thursday, March 18, on the preparation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of “sluggish and chaotic” elections in 2023, after identifying similarities with the previous polls to the results contested, organized in 2011 and 2018.
“The preparation of the elections is already a delay of twelve months. But it takes a thousand days to organize transparent, inclusive, free and credible elections respecting the constitutional period,” explained during a Jérôme press conference. Bonso, the National League for free and transparent elections (linelit).
“We now weave because, of all that is done in the preparations, clear signals show that the elections in preparation are likely to be sloppy and chaotic like those organized in 2011 and 2018”, estimated Floribert Anzuluni, Citizen Filimbi Movement (“Whistle” in Swahili).
“We declare together [with Congolese NGOs] that the next elections in 2023 must unfold in another way. But after analysis of the preparation process, we are afraid,” said Tony Gambino, “said Tony Gambino, A former head of the USAID American Development Agency in the DRC.
“truly free elections”
In a Joint Declaration, the 62 NGOs invited the Congolese Government and the international community to be careful “now that the upcoming elections are truly free, inclusive, transparent and democratic and that no one can cross the results. urns “.
The leaders of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), contested by the Catholic and Protestant churches, accused the government not to release funds for pre-election operations while the Congolese Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi said have already paid more than twenty million dollars to CENI.
In 2011 and in 2018, civil society, mainly the Catholic Church, as well as foreign partners of the DRC, had called into question the results published by the Commission and endorsed by the Constitutional Court.
Despite the irregularities noted, the international community dropped, regretted Jean-Claude Mputu, spokesperson for the group “The Congo is not for sale”.
The American organization The Sentry, which follows the process, will propose individual sanctions against persons who hinder the smooth running of the election preparations, said his director Justyna Gudzowska.