RD Congo: LAMUKA Questioning Fairness Of Upcoming Polls

By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman

Presidential, legislative and communal elections are fast approaching in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Central Africa. For this reason, many voices are being raised from time to time to ensure that these elections are truly credible, transparent and peaceful.

LAMUKA, one of the major opposition political groupings, has just taken up the cause. This structure does not mince words and openly denounces what it observes.

In a statement made public the day before yesterday in the capital Kinshasa, one day after those of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC), the political family of presidential candidate Martin Fayulu accused CENI president Denis Kadima of "desperately trying to hide the real content of the electoral file in order to cheat in favor of Félix Tshisekedi", the outgoing president of the Republic.

The same statement added: "There is no CENI branch with electoral lists, nor is there an attendant available for consultation. Moreover, no lists are posted on its website".

LAMUKA considers this situation to be "a flagrant violation of electoral law, the sole aim of which is to cover the tracks of fraud. This is clear from paragraph 6 of the CENI press release, which states: It should be emphasized that if a voter does not show up for the consultation, he or she runs the risk, in the event of omission, of not exercising his or her right to vote''. What a deception! It's clear that CENI cannot justify the 43,955,181 voters it has put forward, and is therefore looking for a way out.

For its part, the electoral center rejects all these accusations and says it is determined to hold the elections on December 20, 2023, respecting the electoral calendar.