DRC – Presidential and legislative: kick-off of the electoral campaign
The electoral campaign for the presidential and legislative elections was launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday, December 19, 2023. In total, 26 candidates are competing for the presidential election and 25,832 are competing for parliamentary seats.
Despite the critical security situation in the east of the DRC, particularly in the territories of Rutshuru and Masisi, in the east of the country, and Kwamouth, in the southwest, hostilities for the presidential campaign are now launched with 44 millions of voters expected at the polls. For this election which will take place on December 20, 26 candidates are in the running including the outgoing president, Félix Tshisekedi and Martin Fayulu who continues to claim his victory in the presidential election 5 years ago.
Moise Katumbi, Denis Mukwege and Matata Mponyo are also candidates and real challengers to Félix Tshisekedi, in this election which is coupled with the legislative elections. In total, according to the independent national electoral commission (CENI), 25,832 candidates are in the running for the 500 seats in the National Assembly, 44,110 candidates for the provincial deputy.
On the sidelines of the European Union which dispatched an electoral observation mission to the DRC, Congolese civil society activists announced Friday, in Kinshasa, a self-financed electoral observation mission, saying they fear fraud during the presidential election of December 20 next.