The Democratic Republic of Congo, a country in Central Africa, is in full preparation for the legislative and presidential elections to be held in 2023. The government has decided to distribute the seats in each electoral district according to the number of registered voters. Opposition MPs protest and call the electoral register “corrupt and false”. They demand the establishment of a truly neutral Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) with an audit of the electoral register by an international institution.
The draft law on the distribution of seats was sent to the Political, Administrative and Legal Commission (PAJ) for in-depth study and fine-tuning, without any consensus having been found with the opposition. The deputies of the majority declared Wednesday, May 31 this bill admissible without taking into account the demands of the opposition. The Minister of the Interior, Peter Kazadi, defended this distribution by specifying that the work was done on the basis of statistics obtained after cleaning the electoral register and extracting multiple registrations.
Meanwhile, the province of Lituri faces a fight against impunity, with in particular the ICC Prosecutor who is active on the spot. This province is also affected by territories plagued by insecurity where 16 seats have been reserved. Special economic zones are planned to pacify this province and the entire territory.
Political tensions are also palpable with the arrest of Salmon Idi Kalonda della, right arm of politician Moïse Katumbi, and the Front Commun pour le Congo which is sounding the alarm on the security fragility in the country. Despite this, the country continues to attract investors and an inspiring platform has been created to support young Congolese entrepreneurs.
In sports, Kentucky center Oscar Tshiebwe remains on the NBA draft list. As for the goods transport sector, it has been disrupted by a strike by transporters in the DRC, particularly affecting the former eastern province.
In short, the DRC is a country in full swing and the 2023 elections promise to be tense. However, the country continues to attract investors and initiatives are being put in place to encourage entrepreneurship. It remains to be hoped that these political tensions and this security fragility will not undermine the electoral process and that the elections will be held in peace, transparency and freedom.