Electoral Process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – World Countries for Kids

Due to the manipulation of the electoral process by political elites, the political system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is badly paralyzed. Political system is heavily influenced by a long-running struggle in the east of the country. Citizens are simply unable to freely exercise basic civil rights, and corruption is endemic. Physical security is fragile due to violence and human rights abuses committed by government forces, militias, and armed rebel groups, especially in the east.

Electoral Process

President is the chief of the state and can’t serve more than two five-year terms, says the constitution. Head of the government is not the president but the prime minister, who is formally appointed by the president. Presidential and legislative elections were conducted on December 20, 2023. International and domestic observers and analysts stated that the run-up to the election and the conduct of the voting were tainted by many logistical and security problems. Over one million citizens were unable to register to vote, mainly due to battle between M23 and the army in North Kivu and insecurity in other parts of the country.

In a preliminary report, the US-based Carter Center observer mission, said that although the elections were “competitive” and displayed a “strong commitment to democracy,” there was a “lack of confidence in the process” due to factors including the manner in which the previous elections were conducted and very poor transparency by electoral officials. The Carter Center and other observers took note that voting had to be stretched to a second day in many areas because a lot of polling stations opened late or simply didn’t open. No less than 19 people, including two candidates, died in election related violence.

On December 31, CENI declared incumbent Tshisekedi as winner of the presidential election, with 73.3 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results.  Tshisekedi is the leader of the Sacred Union of the Nation (USN) coalition, who had taken office in 2019. Of the total 25 opposition candidates, the Together for the Republic party candidate Moïse Katumbi garnered 18.1 percent, and former oil company executive Martin Fayulu belonging to the Lamuka coalition received 5.3 percent. Ahead of CENI’s announcement, a clutch of opposition candidates, including Katumbi, said that they rejected the results and instructed their supporters to protest.

A bicameral national legislature with a 109-seat Senate elected by provincial assemblies and, a 500-seat National Assembly chosen via direct election, is in place in the DRC. Eight Senate seats are reserved for customary chiefs. Five-year terms are served by members of both houses. Elections for the National Assembly and provincial assemblies were conducted on the very same day as the presidential elections in December 2023, but CENI did not declared results as of year’s end.