A reform of the electoral commission was voted on Friday by the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to try to ensure the transparency of the next elections and the political stability of the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, without convincing the opposition.
Read also: DRC: "impossible depoliticization" of the electoral commission before 2023
The bill should prepare for the
"2023 elections"
, welcomed the President of the Assembly Christophe Mboso, after the adoption of the text by 336 of the 337 deputies present (they are 500 in total). The text, which must now be examined by the Senate, provides for an Election Commission of 15 members (five from the majority, five from the opposition and five representatives of civil society).
"I hope that the law on the reform of the Ceni will strengthen its depoliticization, its independence, the transparency of the electoral process"
, declared Thursday the representative of the United Nations in the DRC, Bintou Keita.
The text did not convince the opposition to President Félix Tshisekedi and his parliamentary majority.
The opponent Martin Fayulu thus denounced on Twitter
"the forcing initiated by Félix Tshisekedi for the parliament to unilaterally vote a law on the #CENI tailored to measure in order to prepare for electoral fraud in #RDC in 2023"
.
Presidential candidate of December 2018, Martin Fayulu believes to be the real winner of this election and to have been dispossessed of his victory by an agreement between the current president and his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.
Electoral reform has also been denounced by the Lamuka coalition, which brings together Martin Fayulu and other opponents.
