The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s electoral commission has confirmed December 20, 2023 as the date for the next presidential election.
Currently, insecurity plagues the country’s east, with several rebel groups causing instability. The attempt this week to persuade the M23 group to agree to a ceasefire appears to have failed.
According to the AFP news agency, the chairman of the electoral commission said that continued insecurity in some parts of the territory would make holding a “free, democratic, and transparent” vote difficult.
However, the authorities are keen on sticking to the schedule.
“It is not a question of negotiating with the constitutional deadlines, it is a question of us respecting them and consolidating our democracy,” government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya is quoted as saying by Reuters.
He added that the polls would cost about $600 million. Current President Félix Tshisekedi, who took office in January 2019, has already stated his intention to compete for a second term.
He took over from Joseph Kabila, which was the first time the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo changed hands without violence.
