DRC pledges to hold presidential election in a year

President signs pact with neighbours to stamp out militia attacks

The DRC has announced an election date for a year’s time, days after signing a pact with neighbouring countries to quell attacks by armed rebel forces.

The government pledged to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on December 20 2023, kicking off a year of complex preparations in the vast Central African country, large parts of which are overrun by militia violence.

Announcing the date in Kinshasa on Saturday, the electoral body outlined several challenges, including the logistics of transporting ballot materials thousands of miles, health concerns about Ebola and Covid19, and unrest that has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

But the state has pledged to stick to the timetable in the country of 80 million people. “It is not a question of negotiating with the constitutional deadlines, it is a question of us of respecting them and consolidating our democracy,” said government spokesman Patrick Muyaya. He said the election will cost about $600m, with over $450m already budgeted.

Election struggles are common in the DRC.

The last presidential poll, DRC’S first democratic transition, was delayed by two years until it was finally held in December 2018. In that vote, President Felix Tshisekedi took over from his long-standing predecessor Joseph Kabila. This time, similar challenges remain.

Candidates are expected to be announced in October. Tshisekedi is expected to run again and one likely challenger is Martin Fayulu, who claimed victory in the 2018 poll.

Presidents are limited to two terms under Congolese law.

Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nations’ largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups continue to operate across the east, including M23 rebels, which DRC has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Kigali denies the accusations.

On Friday M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said they want to talk directly with the government after Tshisekedi and other African leaders signed a ceasefire deal aimed at stopping attacks by the militia.

Leaders of DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Angola met this week in Luanda to find a solution to the conflict in the east, which has forced thousands to flee their homes.

They signed an agreement saying they would enforce a ceasefire from Friday, and said regional troops would intervene against the M23 rebels if it did not withdraw from its positions.

However, the M23 was not part of the discussions and found out about the agreement on social media.

“We thank the regional leaders for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the current conflict,” said Kanyuka.

“Give us direct negotiations with the government to resolve the root causes of conflict that are producing all these wars here,” he added.

M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa issued a similar statement.

The DRC’S government has ruled out negotiating with the M23, which it classifies as a terrorist group.

Asked about this at a press briefing on Thursday, foreign minister Christophe Lutundula said: “It won’t happen.

“I can reassure you on behalf of the government and the President of the Republic.”

The M23 said it had already declared a unilateral ceasefire in April and that it is the state’s army which is initiating attacks. However, fighting has continued since then, and the M23 has captured several towns in the remote and rural east.

When it formed in 2012, the group was the latest in a series of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgencies to rise up against state forces.

It was pushed out of the DRC in 2013 after seizing large swathes of territory.

However the M23 has had a major resurgence this year.

It has staged a major offensive, seizing vast swathes of territory and forcing thousands of people from their homes.