The legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have generated particular excitement this year, particularly with regard to the participation of women. According to official information from the political party “Alliance pour les actions de développement du Congo” (AADC), no less than 196 female candidates were submitted for these elections throughout the country.
This significant number of female candidates propelled the AADC among the first eight political groupings to have fielded a large number of women candidates for national deputy. This strategy of aligning a large number of female candidates aims to conquer power and support Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi.
According to the deputy general secretary of the AADC, Bertin Masansa Mankemba Kasaka, out of the 478 candidates registered for the national legislative elections, 273 are women. Unfortunately, some constituencies experienced delays in providing proof of payment, which led to the reduction of the total number of female candidates to 196 throughout the Congolese territory.
Despite this, Bertin Masansa promised that the AADC would field 375 female candidates at the provincial level, out of a total of 716 candidates. This would represent around 40% women candidates, in the hope of fostering better female representation in the provincial parliament.
This desire to promote the participation of women in Congolese political life is an encouraging sign of the country’s democratic development. It is essential to promote a more balanced representation between men and women in order to guarantee more inclusive decision-making and better representativeness of Congolese society as a whole.
The legislative elections in the DRC are therefore shaping up to be a real turning point for women’s political participation. Let’s hope that this increase in the number of female candidates will translate into a proportional increase in the number of women elected and that they can actively contribute to building a better future for the DRC