DR Congo goes to polls today with Tshisekedi seeking a second term

The DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi held his last political rally on Sunday ahead of Wednesday polls in a bid to retain his seat as the leader of the Central African country.

Just like all the other candidates, Tshisekedi has made similar promises like more jobs, an end to conflict in the east and more infrastructure.

The election campaign has taken place in relative calm, a feat in a country whose first peaceful transition of power since independence in 1960 occurred in 2018.

Human Rights Watch, nonetheless, warned over the weekend that election-related violence risked undermining the vote.

Some 44 million registered voters are set to cast ballots in the vast central African nation of about 100 million people on December 20 in presidential, parliamentary, provincial and municipal polls.

About 100,000 people are standing in the four votes, with President Felix Tshisekedi seeking another term after winning a disputed election in 2018.

The sheer size of the DRC, which is roughly the size of continental Western Europe, means staging elections is a logistical nightmare.

Business magnate

The country is also one of the world’s poorest and has little high-quality infrastructure, with the CENI electoral commission still struggling to distribute voting material to more than 175,000 polling booths.
Business magnate and former provincial governor Moïse Katumbi held his last campaign rally in Lubumbashi on Monday (Dec. 18).

The 58-year-old is one of 19 candidates vying for the presidency in the December 20 elections.

The presidential race is a first-past-the-post vote, giving the President Felix Tshisekedi, who is seeking a second five-year term, a healthy chance of winning against a divided opposition. However, analysts say Katumbi has run the best campaign and poses the strongest challenge to Tshisekedi.

Last week, the government asked the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country to help it transport voting materials.

In Paris, members of the Congolese diaspora express their joy at being able to vote, for the first time, from abroad in the presidential and legislative elections to be held on Wednesday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They are aware that the diaspora of 13,250 voters (including nearly 6,000 in France) may not make a difference in comparison to the 44 million registered in their country, but they are nonetheless proud.

“It’s a very first time that I’m going to vote inside the country. I’m proud,” says Papie Tyty, a member of the Congolese community in Paris.

However, amid the joy, there are poignant expressions of concern and urgency. Gabrielle, unwilling to disclose her full name, highlights the humanitarian crises and suffering in regions like North Kivu.
She emphasizes the importance of the diaspora’s voice in advocating for positive change, making the act of voting not just a right but a moral responsibility.