The CENCO-ECC Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) has raised concerns regarding the Notice of Call for Candidates for the External Audit Mission of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s 2022-2023 electoral register by the CENI. In a press release published on May 10, the EOM CENCO-ECC pointed out that certain provisions on conflicts of interest and the six-day period to carry out the mission did not guarantee the independence of the CENI and could lead to a relationship oriented or manipulated. This situation could reinforce the mistrust of political actors and the public, thus creating conditions conducive to contesting the results of the upcoming elections.
The EOM CENCO-ECC called on the CENI and its stakeholders to work to identify an experienced independent body capable of carrying out the external audit of the electoral register in a timely manner, respecting the conditions that preserve national sovereignty, without offending the independence of that body. She also recalled that the constitution of an electoral register in many African States had often been the subject of controversy, particularly in the case of the DRC where the operations of identification and registration of voters were very discussed and sparked differences between political and civil society actors.
In the meantime, the EOM CENCO-ECC will publish its final report on voter registration on May 15. Previous articles published on Fatshimètre’s blog (links below) provide an overview of the economic, cultural and political issues of the DRC