Electoral process in the DRC: The coherent position of Joseph Kabila’s PPRD
In the Congolese political landscape, coherence is a rare commodity. But when the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) of Joseph Kabila adopts a coherent position, it deserves to be underlined. Since the start of the current electoral process, the PPRD has constantly denounced what it considers to be cheating and irregularity, going so far as to qualify it as a coup against the political order established after the elections in 2018. The party challenges in particular the legitimacy of the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which it considers non-consensual and unrepresentative.
We may not share the dialectic of the PPRD, and it is true that this party was not always a model of integrity when it was in power. However, we must recognize a certain consistency in his position throughout the electoral process. Maintaining this consistency by continuing to work with contested institutions, such as the CENI and the Constitutional Court, requires a certain consistency. In the Congolese political landscape, where changes of opinion are commonplace, this consistency can be considered a feat.
However, the question arises as to whether the PPRD really has the means to assert its position. How to convince elected officials seeking re-election and aspirants to a mandate as deputy or senator to join the side that the PPRD considers to be on the “right side of history”? Is it possible to bypass an entire legislature and come out stronger? Does the PPRD risk paying the price for its consistency to the dregs? Unless Joseph Kabila, thanks to his intimate knowledge of state power, does not have elements that allow him to have a reading of events that escapes the average of the pprdiens.
The electoral process in the DRC remains a complex and moving subject. The position of the PPRD of Joseph Kabila, although disputed, deserves to be taken into account. Only the future will tell if this consistency will pay off for the party, but one thing is certain: they will have marked their position with determination