In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the presidential, legislative, provincial and municipal partial elections take place on December 20, 2023. Delays and malfunctions have been reported in different places in the DRC. Kinshasa, the country’s capital, has not escaped this. This did not prevent thousands of Kinshasa residents from exercising their right to vote. Narrative.
3 mins
From our special correspondent in Kinshasa,
“ Give me the floor, I have too much to say! » Fabrice, 39 years old, mason and musician, is one of those residents of Kinshasa for whom the Congolese general elections were above all a source of frustration and who want to express their anger this December 20. “ It’s a bad election! A bad election », tells journalists the one who did not find his name on the electoral lists.
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In another center of the capital, Gabriel, 30, sighs. Arriving at dawn, this bank agent laments: “ The Ceni [Commission nationale électorale indépendante, NDLR] promised us that the elections would start at 6 a.m. This is a lack of seriousness on his part. Normally, these elections should have been postponed, due to lack of logistical means and the like. They are doing what we call forcing. »
For several weeks, the question of a possible postponement of these presidential, legislative, provincial and partial municipal elections arose, among problems security in eastern DRC, logistical challenge in a country four times the size of France, and lack of funding. But for Patricio, 48, this debate should not exist. “ A true Congolese cannot speak ill of the Congohe gets annoyed. The people who speak badly about the Congo and who express criticism here and there are mostly foreigners who would like this election to be sabotaged. When there is nothing! Everything has been put in order “. This stylist assures: “ For me, everything worked very well for voting. There were a few problems when we arrived in the morning. But, now everything is sorted and we can do it without problem. »
“ If we were in our first election, it would be normal »
This Wednesday, many offices in Kinshasa did not open their doors at the scheduled times: 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fault, most often, is voting machines that are unavailable or not ready to work. A situation with respect to which, the Céni recognized “ a delay in the start of voting operations, in some offices spread across the entire territory “. She promised that “ all voters who wish to do so will vote » and that offices which opened late will operate for 11 hours. As for the offices which did not open their doors this Wednesday, they will do so on December 21, assured Denis Kadima, boss of the Céni.
Arguments which are unlikely to calm Espoir, 33 years old. Arriving at his place of enlistment at 6 a.m., this entrepreneur sighs: “ I have enough. I’m thinking of going home. I am very tired. Imagine that you waited six hours without having eaten. You tell yourself that you have to do your duty as citizens and then this happens… If this was our first election, it would be normal. But it’s already the fourth and we’re supposed to be experts. However, we end up with the same nonsense every election. »
For its part, the Ministry of Communication has tempered the difficulties of the day. If he condemns the acts of vandalism observed […] and listed throughout the national territory “, the government ” congratulated the Congolese people for having mobilized to participate in the elections which are generally going well across the entire national territory “.
An enthusiasm that several opposition leaders, including Denis Mukwege, do not seem to share. In a press release, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner said: very concerned by the multiplication of serious dysfunctions and irregularities which punctuate the current election “.
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