In the DRC, the first head-to-head this Friday between the president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Céni) and the opponents Martin Fayulu, Matata Mponyo, Delly Sessanga and the camp of Moïse Katumbi all declared candidates for the planned presidential election on December 20 in the country. Through these meetings five months before the polls, the electoral center, criticized by the opposition, which denounces the opacity in the conduct of electoral operations, tries to reassure the stakeholders. But today’s meeting did not weaken the opponents.
With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
It’s Independence Day, the day is a public holiday, but the Ceni runs behind the clock a few months before the polls. 10:30 a.m., Martin Fayulu, Augustin Matata Mponyo and Delly Sesanga gather on the 21st floor of the Hôtel du Fleuve. Moïse Katumbi, absent from the capital, was represented by the secretary general of his party, deputy Dieudonné Bolengetenge.
The closed session began at 11 a.m. without collaborators, the press is retained on the ground floor. During four hours of intense discussions, the CENI tried to reassure the opponents, but the latter remained inflexible.
If their demands have been limited in recent months only to the requirement of an audit of the electoral register, during the debates on Friday, the opponents have unearthed other points of disagreement. In particular the overhaul of the Constitutional Court.
” Problem of the law on the functioning and organization of the Ceni, the composition of the Ceni, the electoral law, the problem of inclusiveness, the candidates who are bothered today and the problems of making the electoral register, listed Martin Fayulu. This file was made in opaque conditions. »
It is this last grievance that caught the attention of Denis Kadima. The president of the CENI promised to publish the electoral lists, but the opponents, Martin Fayulu in the lead, demanded more. “ We have to go further, we need an external audit by a reputable independent firm with our own auditors of this electoral register. We are continuing the process and, concomitantly with the other elements which are in the calendar which are being done, we are doing the audit so that will not delay the elections. »
This request for an audit should be submitted to the plenary of the CENI, before any decision, explained the President of the Commission.
The other point that was debated is the issue of election financing. The Ceni has several months of arrears in operating and investment costs. Its president is counting on the respect of the government’s promises to resolve these financial constraints.
Opponent Adolphe Muzito who recently split from Martin Fayulu’s block will be consulted next Monday. The coalition of President Félix Tshisekedi in power as well as that of his predecessor Joseph Kabila will also be invited by the Ceni.