Today, we are going to go around the news in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a zoom on the distribution of the seats of deputies in the national assembly. The law on the distribution of seats was approved during the plenary by the deputies, after its examination in the PAJ committee. If this adoption is not a surprise for the majority in power, it is nevertheless denounced as being a maneuver to prepare an “electoral hold-up” by the leaders of the Opposition, who boycotted this plenary session.
This distribution of seats is a delicate subject, because it ensures equitable representation for each political party. This law therefore replaces that of 2018, which had been accused of favoring the ruling party in the 2018 legislative elections.
However, this adoption of the law on the distribution of seats should not obscure the other problems facing the country. The economic, social and political challenges remain numerous and the security situation is still not stable. The M23 rebellion in North Kivu has recently increased its troops and is threatening the city of Goma. As for the state of siege decreed a few months ago, it has failed to stem the rise of insecurity in this region.
Despite everything, there are tangible advances in the country, for example the visit of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle to Goma to promote peace in an unstable region. Similarly, the mobilization for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for 2024 is a promising sign of the vitality of Congolese society.
In short, the distribution of the seats of deputies in the National Assembly is important to guarantee fair representation of each party, but it should not obscure the many challenges that the country faces. The security situation is particularly worrying and solutions are struggling to materialize