The Constitutional Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently processed several petitions filed against candidates in the presidential election scheduled for December 20. These requests aimed to question the validity of the candidacies, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) had already validated the 24 candidates competing for this crucial election.
However, there were still 11 petitions to be considered by the Constitutional Court. One of them targeted the current president, Félix Tshisekedi, but was rejected by the attorney general who argued that the request had been filed out of time and did not concern the identity of the candidate. This decision was criticized by the applicant, Seth Kikuni, who denounced a violation of procedure and a lack of objectivity on the part of the Court.
Another important request concerns Moïse Katumbi, a political opponent. This request was introduced by another presidential candidate, Noël Tshiani, who contests Katumbi’s Congolese nationality. He claims to rely on press articles expressing doubts about the origin of Katumbi. The Constitutional Court will give its verdict on this request on October 30.
The final decision of the Constitutional Court on these requests will be made public on October 30. Once all decisions have been made, the final list of presidential candidates will be published on November 18. This will mark the official start of the electoral campaign.
This pre-election period is crucial for the DRC, which hopes to organize free and fair elections to ensure a stable and peaceful political transition. The results of this election will have a considerable impact on the political future of the country and on the international relations of the DRC.
However, the controversy surrounding certain candidacies highlights the challenges facing the DRC in its electoral process. The transparency and impartiality of the Constitutional Court will be decisive in maintaining the confidence of the population and guaranteeing the legitimacy of the presidential election.
It remains to be seen how these various disputes will be resolved and how they will influence the political landscape of the DRC. The coming weeks will be crucial for the DRC and for the entire international community which is closely observing this historic political transition.