Press release – Provisional list of candidates for the national legislative election in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Kinshasa, August 11, 2023 – The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) released today the provisional list of candidates for the national legislative election to be held in December this year. This announcement revealed a slight improvement in the rate of female candidates, thus marking a significant step towards gender parity in politics.
According to the figures revealed by Denis Kadima, president of the CENI, of the admissible applications, 83% are men while 17% are women. Compared to the 2018 elections where women represented only 11% of the candidates, this increase of 6% is encouraging.
This positive development is partly explained by the legal provisions put in place by the Congolese legislator. Indeed, article 13 of the electoral law provides for an exemption from payment of the deposit for lists that include at least 50% of women in an electoral district. This measure aims to encourage political parties to present more women on their lists.
However, it is important to point out that this provisional list is subject to dispute. According to article 25 of the electoral law, interested parties have a period of five days to present their disputes before the Constitutional Court. The latter then has ten working days to render its decisions, in accordance with article 27 of the electoral law. Once the judgments of the Constitutional Court have been received, the CENI will publish the final list on September 5, 2023, in accordance with article 27 ter of the electoral law.
This publication of the provisional list of candidates marks an important step in the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It bears witness to the efforts made to promote the political participation of women and gender parity. The CENI will continue to work to ensure fair, transparent and democratic elections in the country