Marie Josée IFOKU: first female candidate for president of the DRC
The Candidature Reception and Processing Office (BRTC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has registered the file of Marie Josée IFOKU, President of the Alliance of Elites for a New Congo (AENC), who is once again launching into the race for the supreme office. This candidacy marks a historic moment, because Marie Josée IFOKU thus becomes the first woman to run in the presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
When submitting her candidacy, Marie Josée IFOKU was received by the president of the CENI, Denis KADIMA KAZADI, who informed her about the electoral process which will lead to the coupled elections scheduled for December 20, 2023.
In her statement to the press, Marie Josée IFOKU highlighted her political ideology called “kombolization”, a concept which takes up the idea of cleaning up anti-values and bad practices. According to her, it is time for the Congolese people to choose a vision rather than a person, and her vision of kombolization aims to break with the system of predation that has plagued the DRC since independence.
The rupture that Marie Josée IFOKU speaks of refers to the predation of power that has been exercised by the country’s leaders until today. She affirms that the Congolese people have become prey for those who rule them, and she wishes to put an end to this situation by proposing a vision of kombolization, based on five key points which she will develop later.
Beyond her candidacy, Marie Josée IFOKU also expressed her support for the President of the CENI, Denis KADIMA KAZADI. She symbolically offered her “ballet” to signify her commitment to ensuring that the elections take place transparently and without a crisis of legitimacy. She stressed the importance of cleaning up the CENI to ensure fair and equitable elections.
The candidacy of Marie Josée IFOKU marks an important step in the fight for gender equality in politics in the DRC. While women are still under-represented in the country’s decision-making bodies, its presence on the political scene opens new perspectives and encourages other women to get involved in political life.
It now remains to be seen how his candidacy will be received by Congolese voters and what his strategy will be to convince voters to choose kombolization for the rebirth of the DRC. The electoral campaign promises to be intense and exciting, and the presence of a female presidential candidate brings a new dimension to this political competition.