The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) recently unveiled the provisional list of political parties and groups that have or have not reached the admissibility threshold for the national legislative elections scheduled for December 20, 2023 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Among the political personalities whose parties have not reached this threshold of admissibility are well-known political figures such as Steve Mbikayi, national deputy, Adam Bombole Intole, PCA of the Commercial Society of Posts and Telecommunications (SCPT), Julien Paluku, Minister of Industry, and Muhindo Nzangi, Minister of Higher and University Education.
Steve Mbikayi’s Labor Party (TP) managed to field only 212 candidates, which represents 48.8% of the seats in competition, but did not reach the admissibility threshold set at 300 candidates.
Similarly, the political party Ensemble Changeons le Congo (ECCO) led by Adam Bombole, which was a presidential candidate in 2011, only managed to field 12 candidates, or only 2.5% of the seats.
Julien Paluku’s party, the United Bloc for the Renaissance and Emergence of Congo (BUREC), was able to field only one candidate, representing only 0.2% of the seats.
As for the party of the Minister of Higher and University Education, the Action of Volunteers for Patriotic Succession (AVRP), it presented only one candidate.
According to the CENI, the admissibility threshold applies to legislative, provincial, municipal and direct local elections, but does not concern presidential, indirect ballots and independent candidates.
It is important to emphasize that, in the event of partial or total cancellation of the vote after the proclamation of the final results, the resumption of the election only applies to parties and political groupings having reached the admissibility threshold and having participated to the annulled vote in the constituency concerned.
This announcement by the CENI elicits different reactions within the Congolese political microcosm and highlights the challenges faced by certain political parties in their race for the national legislative elections.
It only remains to observe how these political figures and their parties will react to this situation and what strategies they will adopt to comply with the demands of the CENI. In any case, this episode highlights the importance of mobilization and political organization to achieve electoral objectives