Denis Kadima, President of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), responded to criticism of the conduct of elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Despite some delays in the deployment of electoral kits, he said these elections should not be considered chaotic.
In a statement, Denis Kadima stressed that the main objective was to allow the Congolese to participate in an open and credible democratic process. He expressed his gratitude to voters for their civic engagement and their patience with small problems encountered during the first day of voting.
The President of the CENI also wanted to emphasize that the postponement of the elections was never envisaged, affirming that the word “slippage” was not part of their vocabulary. He acknowledged the shortcomings of past electoral processes in terms of transparency of results and assured that steps were being taken to improve this issue. The creation of the Bosolo Center (Truth of the Ballot Boxes) aims to guarantee the transparency of electoral results.
Denis Kadima also spoke of the logistical challenges linked to collecting the results, given the size of the country and insufficient infrastructure. He said CENI would continue to release partial results as they were compiled.
This declaration comes after the publication of the partial results of the presidential election concerning the vote of Congolese residing abroad. The CENI is currently continuing the process of collecting results throughout the country.
This speech by Denis Kadima aims to reassure the Congolese population and strengthen confidence in the current electoral process. Despite the obstacles encountered, he insists that these elections are an important step towards strengthening democracy in the DRC.