Interim Report: The Carter Center International Election Observation Mission – Democratic Republic of the Congo

**Introduction **

The Carter Center has been active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2006, working to promote democratic elections, protect human rights, and advance transparency and accountability in extractive industries. On June 24, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) invited The Carter Center to observe the Dec. 20 elections.

In response to the invitation, The Carter Center deployed an international election observation mission (IEOM) in September 2023, led by mission director Nicolas Teindas. The IEOM officially started on Sept. 25 with a core team of seven experts. 2 Since then, the IEOM has met with numerous stakeholders, including officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), the Constitutional Court, government officials at the national and provincial level, several presidential candidates or their representatives, security officials, the citizen observation organizations CENCO-ECC, Regard Citoyen, and other organizations, as well as civil society organizations working on gender and inclusion issues.3 On Nov. 1, The Carter Center began deploying 24 long-term observers (LTOs) to DRC. After an extensive briefing, the LTOs were deployed starting Nov. 9 to eleven provinces in 12 teams of two. 4 The Center will be joined by a leadership delegation and a limited number of Atlanta headquarters staff around election day.

The Carter Center will publish the IEOM preliminary statement of findings and conclusions after election day and a final report following the end of the electoral process, including recommendations to further strengthen the process. While the Carter Center IEOM will observe election day proceedings at a selection of polling centers, it will not deploy a full short-term observation delegation. The limited number of short-term observers means that the IEOM will not have a sufficient nationwide presence to make comprehensive conclusions about the conduct of election day.
The Carter Center expresses its gratitude to the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the invitation to observe the Dec. 20 elections. The Carter Center thanks the CENI for its prompt efforts to ensure timely accreditation of its observers and for its cooperation with IEOM observers and staff at the national, provincial, and local levels.5