2023 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election
20–24 December 2023
Registered41,738,628
Turnout42.65% (Decrease 4.92pp)
Presidential election
 
Nominee Félix Tshisekedi Moïse Katumbi Martin Fayulu
Party UDPS ENSEMBLE ECiDé
Alliance USN Congo ya Makasi Lamuka
Popular vote 13,058,962 3,256,572 875,336
Percentage 73.47% 18.32% 4.92%
President before election

Félix Tshisekedi
UDPS

 Elected President

Félix Tshisekedi
UDPS

Legislative election

General elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 20 December 2023. Simultaneous elections were held for the President, 484 of the 500 members of the National Assembly, 700 of the 716 elected members of the 26 provincial assemblies, and for the first time under the new constitution, 951 members of a restricted number of commune (municipal) councils. On election day, the Congolese government extended voting to 21 December for polling stations that had not opened on 20 December.[1][2] Agence France-Presse reported that some polling stations would open as late as 24 December.[3]

These elections are the first of the 4th election cycle under the 2006 constitution. Six more elections are scheduled to follow in 2024, five of which are indirect.

The territories of Kwamouth, Masisi, and Rutshuru did not participate in the election due to armed conflict.

Incumbent President Félix Tshisekedi was provisionally declared the winner on 31 December, winning about 73% of the vote.[4]

Background

2018 electoral fraud

President Félix Tshisekedi's election in 2018 was extremely controversial, with most independent observers, including the Catholic Church, believing that opposition candidate Martin Fayulu had actually won in a landslide. They believe that outgoing President Joseph Kabila, realising chosen successor candidate couldn't credibly win, struck a deal with Tshisekedi to make him president while Kabila governed jointly with him.[5]

According to Jacques Mukena, Senior Governance Researcher at Ebuteli Institute, the election will most likely not be completely free and fair, but believes Tshisekedi and the CENI are aware of the fact that they would be under closer scrutiny than in 2018 because more local and international observers would be watching. Additionally, candidates such as Delly Sesanga have already declared that they would believe the Catholic Church’s opinion of who won the elections, not CENI’s.[5]

According to the Crisis Group, there is a fear of a wider political crisis if losing candidates or their backers do not accept the presidential results. Any crisis, while not inevitable, could worsen the already dire situation in the east.[6]

On 20 November, Fayulu advocated for transparent and impartial elections, he insisted that the Congolese "must no longer accept someone stealing their victory."[7]

Insecurity

Map of the M23 offensive with Goma on the north shore of Lake Kivu at the bottom

The Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered from almost constant conflict in the east for the past 30 years. More recently, violence surged in the region after a new rebellion by the M23 group, supported by Rwanda, caused much of the North Kivu province to be occupied by rebels. This upsurge in violence comes as MONUSCO is expected to begin its "accelerated" withdrawal, as requested by Tshisekedi, after an almost 25-year presence in the country.[8][9]

Due to this, two territories of the province will not be able to vote normally, but if Goma were to fall as it did in 2012, the whole process would be compromised.[8]

With the possibility of over a million voters being disenfranchised from instability, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has proposed sending a regional intervention force into eastern DRC to try to stabilise the area. The SADC Mission in the DRC was first proposed in May and was meant to go in by September but has been postponed, with its most recent summit concerning finance.[5]

According to the Institute for Security Studies, it's hard to imagine the mission could go in and suppress all of eastern DRC’s many armed rebel groups in time to enfranchise those voters.[5]

Schedule

Selected dates from the electoral calendar:[10][11]

  • 24 December 2022—17 March 2023: Voter registration.
  • 21 May 2023: Publication of registration statistics per electoral district—registration totals will determine the size of the provincial assemblies and of the local councils (commune, sector, and chiefdom councils). They are also used to apportion seats to electoral districts.
  • 23 May 2023—15 June 2023: Proportional allocation of seats to electoral districts based on voter registration numbers; drafted and passed as a law.
  • 26 June 2023—8 October 2023: Candidate registration.
    • 26 June—15 July (20 days): Candidates for the National Assembly.
    • 3 August—22 August (20 days): Candidates for provincial assemblies and commune councils.
    • 9 September–8 October (30 days): Candidates for president.
  • 19 November 2023—18 December 2023: Electoral campaigns.
    • 19 November: Start of 30 day campaigns for president, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies.
    • 4 December: Start of 15 day campaigns for commune councils.
  • 20 December 2023: Election day.
  • 20 January 2024: Presidential swearing in ceremony.

Electoral system

Presidential election

The president is elected by plurality voting in one round.[12] For the first time, some Congolese living abroad were able to vote in the presidential election. These were those living in Belgium, Canada, France, South Africa, and the United States.

Electoral district based elections

Except for the four National Assembly districts of Kinshasa, all electoral districts are simply administrative subdivisions of the country; the four exceptions are themselves groupings of administrative divisions of Kinshasa.

Contested electoral districts of the 2023 general election[13]
For the Districts are Total
in Provinces in Kinshasa Districts Seats Candidates[14]
National Assembly territoriesa and cities Kinshasa I-IVb 179 (64)c 484 c. 25,000
26 Provincial assemblies communes 199 (37) 700 c. 32,000
113 Commune councils communesd 113 (0) 951 c. 49,000
Notes: a) Postponed in the territories of Kwamouth, Masisi, and Rutshuru due to armed conflict. b) Kinshasa I: Lukunga, II: Funa, III: Mont-Amba, IV: Tshangu. c) Total single member districts in parenthesis. d) Only the communes of Kinshasa and the 25 provincial capitals.

At the start of every five year election cycle voter registration takes place. The results for each province, including Kinshasa, are first used to proportionally distribute the 500 National Assembly seats and the 780 total seats of the provincial assemblies to the provinces. This determines the size of the provincial delegation in the National Assembly and the size of each provincial assembly. The second phase proportionally allocates provincial seats to each assembly district—in the case of the provincial assemblies, up to 10% of seats are reserved for the co-option of traditional leaders and are not allocated to an assembly district for election. Voter registration numbers for a commune determines the size of the commune council.

For the 2023 election, voter registration could not be carried out in some areas of the territories of Kwamouth, Masisi, and Rutshuru due to armed conflict. To deal with this, it was decided to postpone the elections in these territories and reserve the same number of seats for these districts as they had in 2018, with the result that only 484 National Assembly seats and 700 provincial assembly seats were allocated to the remaining districts.

Each candidate for these elections are part of a three person ticket which includes candidates for first and second substitute. It is not unusual for a candidate to run for both a national and provincial assembly seat in which case they can keep but one and a substitute takes the other.

A new rule requires participating political parties and alliances to contest at least 60% of the seats up for renewal in an election. So for example, each party/alliance had to register at least 290 candidates to participate in the National Assembly election.[15]

The members of the National Assemblies and the provincial assemblies are elected by two methods. In electoral districts having been allocated only one seat, members are elected using first-past-the-post voting; while in those allocated multiple seats, the members are elected by open list proportional representation, with seats assigned using the largest remainder method. For the commune councils all members of a council are in a single multi-member district and are elected using the open list method.

Candidates

There are 26 official candidates:[16]

Active

Withdrew

  • Franck Diongo, withdrew in favor of Moïse Katumbi[17]
  • Seth Kikuni, withdrew in favor of Moïse Katumbi[17]
  • Matata Ponyo Mapon, former prime minister (2012–2016) withdrew in favor of Moïse Katumbi[18]
  • Delly Sesanga, withdrew in favor of Moïse Katumbi[19]
  • Joëlle Bile, withdrew in favor of Félix Tshisekedi[20]
  • Patrice Mwamba, withdrew in favor of Félix Tshisekedi[20]
  • Noël Tshiani, withdrew in favor of Félix Tshisekedi[20]

Opinion polls

Opinion polling is rare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to poor roads and lack of electricity. Nevertheless, a survey conducted by GeoPoll Socio-Political Barometer in the second quarter of 2023 found that voters expressed significant discontent with the governance under Tshisekedi, assigning him a satisfaction rating of 49.7%. Despite this, the survey also suggested that Tshisekedi would secure a second term thanks in part to perceived improvements, such as his free education initiative, and partly due to a divided opposition.[5][21]

An earlier 2022 poll by the same group found unemployment and insecurity to be the most cited dysfunctional areas, closely followed by the state of the country’s roads and rising prices. On the other hand, free education was found to be the most favorable policy.[22]

Results

President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Félix TshisekediUnion for Democracy and Social Progress13,058,96273.47
Moïse KatumbiTogether for the Republic3,256,57218.32
Martin FayuluCommitment to Citizenship and Development875,3364.92
Adolphe MuzitoNew Momentum200,8001.13
Soborabo Radjabho TebabhoCongolese United for Change70,0890.39
Denis MukwegeIndependent39,6390.22
Aggrey Ngalasi KurisiniIndependent37,2000.21
Constant MutambaRevolutionary Progressive Dynamic36,1970.20
Jean-Claude BaendeIndependent25,5840.14
Delly SesangaFlight17,7850.10
Loli Nkema Liloo BokonziIndependent17,0460.10
Patrice Majondo MwambaIndependent15,7930.09
Marie-Josée IfokuIndependent15,2660.09
Matata Ponyo MaponLeadership and Governance for Development14,1800.08
André Masalu AneduIndependent13,9540.08
Floribert AnzuluniIndependent13,7070.08
Noël TshianiIndependent9,2760.05
Seth KikuniIndependent8,6210.05
Justin Mudekereza BisimwaIndependent7,5730.04
Joëlle Bile BataliIndependent6,9110.04
Franck DiongoProgressive Lumumbist Movement6,7800.04
Tony BolambaIndependent6,3070.04
Rex Kazadi KandaIndependent5,7570.03
Georges Buse FalayIndependent5,2880.03
Enoch NgilaIndependent5,1560.03
Théodore NgoyIndependent4,1320.02
Total17,773,911100.00
Valid votes17,773,91199.85
Invalid/blank votes26,2520.15
Total votes17,800,163100.00
Registered voters/turnout41,738,62842.65
Source: Constitutional Court[23]

National parliamentary elections

Although the provisional results of the legislative elections were due on January 03, 2024, they were postponed for 10 days due to the fraud and irregularities denounced by CENI[24].

Provisional results

According to the provisional results, 44 parties and/or political groupings have reached the representativeness threshold and should therefore have seats in the National Assembly[25]. The Independent National Electoral Commission has published the names of 477 of the 500 deputies, pending the results from constituencies where unrest and violence were recorded. This includes 177 constituencies, as the results of Masimanimba in Kwilu and Yakoma in Nord-Ubangi were annulled for fraud, and in the territories of Masisi and Rutshuru in North-Kivu and Kwamouth in Maï-Ndombe, elections were not held due to the activism of armed groups[25][26][27].

After CENI invalidated 82 candidates, the ruling UDPS/Tshisekedi party won the most seats, giving President Félix Tshisekedi a comfortable parliamentary majority.

Matata Ponyo Mapon, Constant Mutamba, Jean-Claude Baende and Adophe Muzito, who also stood in the presidential election, were elected in Kindu, Lubao, Mbandaka and Kikwit respectively, while a large number of the president's allies, including the two presidents of the houses of parliament: Christophe Mboso and Bahati Lukuebo, Prime Minister Sama Lukonde, and the candidate deputy prime ministers Vital Kamerhe, Jean-Pierre Lihau and Christophe Lutundula, won their seats once again[28][29].

Aftermath

On 6 January 2024, Katumbi released a statement disputing the results of the election on the grounds of "massive fraud and treachery" and calling for the resignation of Denis Kadima, the head of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Two days later, his party stated that he had been placed under house arrest, with a spokesman reporting the presence of "heavily armed soldiers traveling in armoured vehicles surrounding his house".[30] The security forces were subsequently ordered to withdraw by the provincial governor Jacques Kyabula Katwe.[31]

References

  1. ↑ Rolley, Sonia; Kombi, Yassin; Erikas, Fiston Mahamba; Kambale, Mwisi; Kyala, Crispin; Bashizi, Arlette; Prentice, Alessandra; Felix, Bate (20 December 2023). Richardson, Alex; Chopra, Toby; Maler, Sandra; Wallis, Daniel (eds.). "Congo extends chaotic election as opposition calls for rerun". Reuters. Kinshasa and Goma. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Voting extends to 2nd day in Congo elections amid fraud claims". www.aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Calls for restraint in DR Congo after tense vote". France 24. AFP. 23 December 2023. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "DR Congo election: President Felix Tshisekedi declared landslide winner". BBC. 31 December 2023. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 ISSAfrica.org (3 November 2023). "Is DRC heading for another chaotic election?". ISS Africa. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "Elections in DR Congo: Reducing the Risk of Violence". www.crisisgroup.org. 30 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Martin Fayulu à Bagata : « Nous allons avoir une armée de 500 000 personnes bien formées et bien équipée »". Radio Okapi (in French). 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 "DRC: campaigning for presidential elections officially launched". Africanews. 19 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "DR Congo faces logistical, security challenges before pivotal December poll". France 24. 16 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  10. ↑ CENI. "Synthese du Calendrier des Activites Electorales" (PDF) (in French). Radio Okapi. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  11. ↑ CENI. "Calendrier des Activites Electorales" (PDF) (in French). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Constitution de la Republique Democratique du Congo" [The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo] (PDF). LEGANET.CD (in French). 20 January 2011. Article 71. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Tabulated from the lists of candidates for the National Assembly, the provincial assemblies, and the commune councils available at the CENI website Archived 5 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine. See for example the list of provincial deputy candidates of Tshuapa province Archived 28 December 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ Glez, Damien (3 January 2023). "Élections en RDC : pas de « glissement », mais des reports". Jeune Afrique (in French). Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "RDC: plus de 20.000 candidatures pour 484 sièges à l'Assemblée". Le360 Afrique (in French). with AFP. 11 August 2023. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Présidentielle 2023 : la Cour constitutionnelle valide 2 nouvelles candidatures". Radio Okapi (in French). 30 October 2023. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  17. 1 2 "Elections 2023 : après Matata et Kikuni, Franck Diongo se rallie à Moïse Katumbi". Radio Okapi (in French). 20 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "Présidentielle 2023 : Matata Ponyo se retire au profit de Moïse Katumbi". Radio Okapi (in French). 19 November 2023. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "Présidentielle 2023 : le candidat Delly Sessanga rallie Moise Katumbi". Radio Okapi (in French). 3 December 2023. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 "Campagne électorale en RDC : désistement de 7 candidats président en un mois". Radio Okapi (in French). 18 December 2023. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  21. ↑ Kibuacha, Frankline (23 August 2023). "The GeoPoll Socio-Political Barometer Survey DRC - Q2 2023 Report". GeoPoll. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  22. ↑ Angus-Hammond, Matt (23 December 2022). "Democratic Republic of the Congo - The GeoPoll Socio-Political Barometer Survey - Report Preview". GeoPoll. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  23. ↑ Audience publique du 09 janvier 2024 – Contentieux des résultats de la présidentielle [Public Hearing of January 09, 2024 - Dispute over presidential election results] (video) (in French). Constitutional Court. 9 January 2024. Event occurs at 1:47:00. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via Facebook.
  24. ↑ Joslin Lomba (14 January 2024). "Actualité | Proclamation des résultats législatives : Voici les 44 partis et regroupements politiques ayant atteint le seuil | mediacongo.net". www.mediacongo.net. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  25. 1 2 Actualité.CD (14 January 2024). "RDC : Les résultats provisoires des législatives nationales dévoilés". Actualite.cd (in French). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  26. ↑ Bruno Nsaka (13 January 2024). "Publication des résultats des législatives nationales : Ce qu'il faut savoir avant l'heure H". Actualite.cd (in French). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  27. ↑ Radio Okapi (8 January 2024). "L'Avenir : «Crash électoral : La CENI invalide 82 candidats »". Radio Okapi (in French). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  28. ↑ Radio Okapi (14 January 2024). "Résultats provisoires des législatives nationales : 477 députés élus pour le compte de 44 partis et regroupements politiques (CENI)". Radio Okapi (in French). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  29. ↑ Patient Ligodi (14 January 2024). "Premiers résultats des législatives en RDC: probable majorité parlementaire pour Félix Tshisekedi". RFI (in French). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  30. ↑ "DR Congo opposition politician Moïse Katumbi blocked from leaving home". The New Times. Rwanda. 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  31. ↑ "Moïse Katumbi in DR Congo: Troops surrounded poll loser's home". BBC News. 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.

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