Heading towards historic presidential elections in the DR. Congo

December 21, 2018

Citizen actions, Article, Good governance, Democracy, Human rights, Elections, Social justice, DR Congo

Against a backdrop of concerns about the reliability and even the holding of elections, the Congolese are nevertheless preparing to try an unprecedented experience in their history: the transfer of presidential power through the ballot box.

Since its independence in 1960, DR Congo has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power through the ballot box. The elections of December 23, 2018 could be the first to see a sitting President leave his post in favor of another newly elected one, without force.. These elections will therefore, if they are held as planned, have a connotation historical. However, the deleterious context in which they were organized raised multiple questions. After more than two years of waiting, many Congolese citizens still doubt the quality and transparency of this crucial election. Which could lead to disputes over the results in the weeks to come, and lead once again to the conflagration of this great country. After more than a decade of armed conflicts which ravaged the country to the point of calling its existence into question, the Democratic Republic of Congo has resolutely engaged in a process of rebuilding the State through governance based on election as the only means to put an end to recurring political crises and the contestation of the legitimacy of Institutions. While an easing of the political climate has been expected sinceNew Year's Eve Agreement 2016, the months preceding the election were marred by numerous excesses: travel difficulties for certain candidates (notably landing prohibited in various regions), repressed political meetings, clashes between activists … De plus, certains points d’achoppement ont été mis en avant et n’ont toujours pas été adressés par la Commission Nationale Electorale Indépendante (CENI) à quelques jours du scrutin. Le fichier électoral est encore suspecté de présenter de potentiels électeurs fictifs. Selon un audit réalisé par les experts de l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) en mai 2018, 16,6% d’électeurs sans empreinte digitale sont inscrits dans le fichier électoral . En parallèle, la CENI a décidé unilatéralement d’utiliser des machines électroniques comme mode de scrutin pour les élections. Sous le coup de la surprise, l’opposition politique s’y était d’abord opposée, avant de finalement développer des positions divergentes. D’aucuns estiment que si cette machine serait acceptable pour les élections des députés vu leur nombre (15,355 applications for national deputation are validated for 300 seats and 19,640 applications for provincial ones), they are not necessary with regard to presidential elections which could be done using paper ballots. The opposition coalition “LAMUKA” – which raised awareness about the boycott of the voting machine – has revised its position and now accepts that its activists use it, but only for printing ballot papers. The Congolese electoral law, in its article 23ter, expressly prohibits electronic voting for elections currently being organized. Already questioned on this subject, the CENI has responded several times that, in its opinion, the voting machine does not fall under electronic voting, insofar as it would only be used to “print” the ballot papers. Here we still see possible challenges to the results. The availability of machines across the country also raises questions. If the hundred thousand planned machines are all actually deployed on time to the polling stations, around 400 voters will parade in front of each of them. With the energy and logistical challenges that arise given the size of the country, the challenge remains significant. The question of the deployment and availability of machines arose again less than a week before the election with the fire in the CENI warehouses in Kinshasa, the night of December 12, the origin of which is still unknown. This fire caused the destruction of around 8,000 voting machines intended to be deployed in offices in the city of Kinshasa. L’observation des élections en RD. Congo L’observation électorale est une pratique courante. Cette dernière peut être faite par une ou plusieurs parties indépendantes qui peuvent être de différents ordres : observateurs étrangers déployés par leur État ou au nom d’une organisation régionale par exemple. Des observateurs nationaux, issus des partis politiques ou de la société civile peuvent également être déployés. L’observation a pour but d’assurer un processus électoral équitable, conduit selon des standards internationaux. Ce processus encourage la protection des droits civils et politiques. La légitimité d’une élection peut être affectée par les critiques des observateurs. La division de l’assistance électorale des Nations Unies est l’organisation la plus connue : des personnels permanents, observateurs et experts en élections qui assistent à des élections dans le monde entier. D’autres organisations internationales comme l’Organisation pour la Sécurité et la Coopération en Europe (OSCE), l’Union Européenne (UE), le Conseil de l’Europe, l’Union Africaine ou encore l’OIF et la SADC (Southern African Development Community) peuvent également déployer des missions d’observation des élections. Les observateurs sont souvent concentrés dans les endroits les plus susceptibles de présenter des irrégularités. Enfin, on distingue les observateurs à court-terme qui sont présents dans les semaines précédant ou suivant directement le scrutin, des observations à long-terme qui sont présentes plusieurs mois avant les élections pour observer « le contexte électoral » d’une manière plus globale, ainsi que les éventuels cas de contestation. Selon le contexte, la société civile peut se mobiliser pour observer des élections dans le but : d’engager les citoyens dans le processus électoral ; de décourager la fraude ; d’exposer les problèmes et les irrégularités ; de fournir une mesure exacte de la qualité de l’élection ; de promouvoir la confiance dans le processus et les résultats ; et de fournir des recommandations pour améliorer le processus pour la prochaine élection. À plus long terme, l’observation citoyenne des élections contribue à assurer l’intégrité électorale, et renforce la capacité de la société civile à promouvoir la participation des citoyens, à s’engager dans le plaidoyer politique et à favoriser la responsabilisation gouvernementale durant les élections et bien au-delà du cycle électoral. Pour les élections congolaises du 23 décembre 2018, la société civile congolaise constituera la plus importante mission d’observation avec quelque 20.000 observateurs issus de la SYMOCEL (Synergie des Missions d’Observation Citoyenne des Elections) et quelque 40.287.387 observateurs dépêchés par the Congolese Justice and Peace Commission .These observers will be deployed in the 76,000 polling stations. Concerning international observers, it should be noted that observers from the European Union, like those from the (American) Carter Center, were not invited to observe the elections whereas they had been during the last election in 2011. This exclusion seems to be the response to European Union sanctions which affected some key leaders of the regime close to the presidential movement (including the “dolphin” of the outgoing president) on the one hand but remains interpreted, on the other, either as a lack of desire for transparency, or a corollary of the refusal to welcome external financial support. VRT reporter Peter VANDERLIDEN and other journalists were turned away and their visas canceled considered undesirable on Congolese soil during the electoral period.An international presence will however be ensured by members of the SADC and the African Union with some 200 observers across the country.. On the night of December 12, around 8,000 voting machines planned for the city of Kinshasa were burned in a fire whose origin is still unknown. The CENI, despite the concerns expressed, reassures the public by saying that it has other machines in reserve to make up for this loss. A possible postponement? On the morning of December 19, the electoral campaign was suspended in Kinshasa by decision of the Governor of the province for security reasons. Everything suggests that by December 23, not all polling stations will have been equipped with all the equipment planned for the elections. Would the possible postponement not be interpreted as a failure of the CENI team, thus implying its resignation or simply as a subterfuge of the power in place? Particular attention must therefore be paid so that this country does not sink again into a spiral of violence which will not spare the Central African region. 3 days before the elections, CENI remains faced with technical and logistical challenges. “ The delivery of minutes is not yet effective in all voting and compilation centers across the immense territory that is the Democratic Republic of Congo.” And on the eve of the elections? Today we are on the eve of the elections in DR Congo. It is important that the vote takes place in a peaceful climate. This is the message sent by the Episcopal Conference of Bishops (CENCO), meeting in an extraordinary plenary session from November 20 to 22, at the end of which it noted the increasingly displayed determination of the government and the CENI to hold the elections on December 23, 2018, in accordance with the electoral calendar. Despite the differences of opinion on certain important points of the process, all the political parties and groups seem equally determined to go to the elections. CENCO, however, launched an appeal to the Congolese people. She also pleaded for the unity of the country, the integrity of its national territory, justice, peace and the improvement of the living conditions of the population. These elections constitute an important moment for the Congolese people, particularly with a view to exercising their primary sovereign right to choose leaders who will be accountable to them and who will work for their well-being in the years to come. At the same time, the majority and the opposition should participate in the end of the process in a constructive manner and thus avoid verbal escalation and confrontational tactics to guarantee a peaceful election in conditions of security and transparency. In this way, the great challenge will be overcome so that the elections of December 23, 2018 do not constitute yet another missed appointment. . A historic process in which civil society will have played a leading role, from preparation to observation, and which will therefore be able to inspire citizen mobilizations throughout the world. Patrick Balemba.