Politics

Presidential candidates in Congo DR want urgent measures to ‘save’ election

Published

6 months ago

October 31, 2023

On Tuesday, candidates in the next presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo called for urgent measures to prevent malpractices in the upcoming voting exercise.

Every opposition candidate has voiced worries about possible electoral fraud and a lack of openness. The candidates, in a joint statement, vowed to resist any manipulation of results and demanded a number of measures from the electoral commission, including the publication of electoral lists and the mapping of polling stations.

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Denis Mukwege, Moise Katumbi, the former governor of the wealthy mining province of Katanga, and Martin Fayulu, the runner-up in the 2018 presidential election, were among the signatories of the statement.

According to the electoral commission, CENI, about 43.9 million voters have been registered for the elections compared to 40.4 million in the previous poll, but the countdown to the election on December 20 has been tense. International partners and human rights organisations have claimed—and the government has refuted—that the authorities are repressing dissent and the right to free speech.

Denis Kadima, president of CENI, met with American representatives in Washington earlier this month as part of a “rebranding” campaign to allay concerns regarding the commission’s prior performance.

“After so much vagueness and lack of seriousness that characterised all the pre-electoral operations…, it is necessary that a few days before the electoral campaign, urgent measures be taken to save the electoral process,” the statement said.

The candidates specifically mentioned the shoddy voter cards that were distributed—they claimed to be inadmissible—and the hold-ups in releasing the voter and polling place lists.

President Felix Tshisekedi is likely to face fierce opposition from Katumbi as he seeks a second term.

Related Topics:Congo DR Elections Featured

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Politics

Mozambique: Ruling FRELIMO announces Chapo as presidential candidate

Published

2 days ago

May 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Daniel Chapo has announced that he will run for president in the October election on behalf of the ruling FRELIMO party in Mozambique.

Since achieving independence in 1975, FRELIMO has ruled the nation in southern Africa, and the party is hoping that Chapo can lead it to another win in the election on October 9.

“The soap opera of speculation is over, including speculation about the third term,” President Filipe Nyusi said on state television on Sunday, dismissing the prospect of contesting elections again.

“We must all unite around comrade Daniel Francisco Chapo, in the demanding march towards electoral victory next October,” Nyusi said.

The president of Mozambique is limited to two terms of five years by the constitution. Nevertheless, following his reelection as party leader in 2022, there had been conjecture in the media that Nyusi may run for a third term.

Chapo, a relatively unknown person in national politics, is the governor of the province of Inhambane in southern Mozambique. As to the party announcement, he secured 225 votes (about 94%) from the central committee of the party.

“We are going to work with all social strata,” Chapo said on television after his win.

Chapo, a former radio host, was born in 1977, making him the first candidate for FRELIMO to be born since the nation gained its independence.

He has served in many governmental capacities, most notably as an administrator of the districts of Nacala and Palma. He also has a master’s degree in development management and a law degree.

Politics

Again, Rwanda denies it attacked displaced persons in DR Congo

Published

5 days ago

May 4, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

For the sixteenth time, Rwanda refuted US charges on Saturday that its troops attacked a camp for internally displaced persons in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), placing the blame instead on militants it claimed were backed by the military of the Congo.

The US State Department released a statement in which it vehemently denounced the incident that claimed at least nine lives on Friday.

There have been persistent accusations against Rwanda of providing support to the armed organizations, which has resulted in diplomatic tensions between the neighbours in East Africa.

Citing the threat that Rwanda’s surface-to-air missile systems posed to civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, aid workers, and commercial aircraft operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the US demanded in February that Rwanda remove its systems and all of its armed forces from the DRC immediately. Rwanda denies providing any assistance to the rebels.

According to the U.S. statement, the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda supports, and the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) held the positions from which the attack was launched. The United States is “gravely concerned about the recent RDF and M23 expansion” in eastern Congo.

Speaking on behalf of the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo refuted claims that the RDF was responsible for the attack, blaming instead rebels backed by the Congolese military.

“The RDF, a professional army, would never attack an IDP (displaced persons). Look to the lawless FDLR and Wazalendo supported by the FARDC (Congolese military) for this kind of atrocity,” she said in a post on X.

Wazalendo is a Christian sect, while the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Hutu organization that was founded by Hutu officials who left Rwanda after planning the 1994 genocide.

Thousands of people from the surrounding areas have fled to Goma in eastern Congo as a result of the M23 rebels’ two-year offensive, which has advanced toward the city in recent months.