The Democratic Republic of the Congo‘s prominent opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu, has threatened to boycott the next elections if the voter list is not rebuilt and reviewed because of alleged fraud.
In the most recent election in 2018, Fayulu, the head of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party, finished second to President Felix Tshisekedi. He unsuccessfully disputed the results in court after his party declared him the winner.
On December 20, millions of Congolese will vote in legislative and presidential elections. Tshisekedi is anticipated to run for re-election.
“Everyone knows that the voter identification and registration process in which we participated took place in total opacity, a proof of the planning and execution of fraud,” Fayulu said at a news conference in Kinshasa on Monday.
“We have decided not to submit the candidacies of our members at all levels of elections as long as the electoral list is not redone transparently and audited by an external firm,” he said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), the Congo’s electoral agency, recruited five foreign experts in May to examine its electoral list; they deemed it trustworthy.
However, the United States, the European Union, and other Western countries said in a joint statement that the audit had “fostered the public perception of independent and transparent oversight” and was a squandered opportunity to increase confidence.
Already, the run-up to the election has been contentious as opposition candidates have voiced complaints about delays and other problems that they claim disadvantage them.
When anti-government protestors rallied last month against alleged anomalies in voter registration, security personnel used tear gas and engaged in running skirmishes in the streets.
Registration was difficult in such areas due to conflict in the volatile east of the DRC. The region, where more than 120 rebel factions have been active for years, may find it challenging to organise elections. Within the last two years, one, the M23, has caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
