Elections in DR Congo: Who Loses Wins or Who Wins Loses?

Abstract

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), country located in central Africa, was established as an official Belgian colony in 1908, the largest Francophone country in Africa gained its independence in 1960, but has been marred by political and social instability caused by massive refugee crisis and the spillover from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The DRC has struggled to recover from a series of conflicts that broke out in the 1990s, creating a protracted economic and social crises throughout the country. Expected since late 2016, the presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo finally took place, after several postponements, on December 30, 2018. The provisional results given by the Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) were confirmed by the Constitutional Court on January 19, 2019, leaving the Congolese voters, the international community, and the observers at the polling stations puzzled. Hence the many reactions we are witnessing today. There remain significant issues: the serious doubt about the results, the snub received by the African Union (AU), the hidden stakes of a power that must leave but wants to stay, the lack of a real political will, etc. Once again, the issue of separation of powers in post-colonial African country remains a major issue, especially in Central Africa.

Keywords: The Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, Joseph Kabila, Africa, Jean-Pierre Bemba, Violence, Contested, Election, Moïse Katumbi, Francophone country, Congo, Félix Tshisekedi,