The bishops of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) issued a joint message following their 60th plenary assembly, which was held in Lubumbashi from June 19-22. In this message, CENCO called on the Congolese people to wake up to the socio-pastoral situation of the country. Since its independence in 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced recurrent political crises, partly linked to contestation of the legitimacy of institutions and their leaders.
The Bishops stressed the need for free, inclusive, transparent and peaceful elections to guarantee the stability and well-being of the people. While acknowledging the efforts made by the government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to publish the electoral calendar and compile the electoral roll within the time limits, CENCO expressed concerns about the ongoing electoral process.
In particular, the bishops mentioned the absence of a framework for tripartite consultation between the Majority, the Opposition and Civil Society, necessary to clarify the problem of Registration Centers (CI) not found in the field and the question sensitive election materials held by unqualified persons. CENCO also highlighted the situation of the completeness of the data of the Registration Centers having experienced malfunctions and the absence of a credible counter-expertise by a specialized international body to audit the electoral register.
CENCO concluded its message by calling on the Congolese people to be vigilant, not to sell or corrupt their conscience and to choose credibly elected leaders. While stressing the need to learn lessons after the 2018 elections which were marred by irregularities, the Catholic bishops considered that the current electoral process is “badly started”.
In summary, CENCO calls on the Congolese people to wake up to the socio-pastoral situation of the country and to be vigilant about the ongoing electoral process. The bishops expressed concerns about the absence of a tripartite consultation framework, the lack of complete data from the Registration Centers, the misappropriation of sensitive electoral materials and the absence of a credible counter-expertise. CENCO stresses the need to choose credibly elected leaders to ensure the stability and well-being of the people