do not enlist now and reserve the seats of the entities affected by the M23 offensive, the option considered by the CENI – Congo Indépendant

by time news March 26, 2023

March 26, 2023

Sunday, March 19, 2023

A voter registration center in Butuhe

The M23 is advancing and occupying towns in three out of six territories in the province of North Kivu. This situation embarrasses the CENI, which cannot launch voter registration operations in these areas.

“It would not be a good thing to enlist the whole country except North Kivu. This will pose a problem of legitimacy and we do not want to move forward without our brothers and sisters from the affected provinces. Personally, I don’t want to consider it. I am thinking of another formula, which would consist of considering seats for these entities and enlisting when possible. However, this is only an idea that will have to be discussed in plenary and finally discussed with the National Assembly,” said Denis Kadima during an interview with France 24.

A likely scenario is considered based on past experiences.

“We can say that during the previous cycles, these entities obtained as many seats and starting from these data we take an average and we reserve them (…). It is an act of solidarity”.

For this, a minimum of political consensus will be needed: “One thing is true: when we slip into the field of security, the CENI does not decide alone. At some point, we will have to meet the military and political authorities, and the political class to find a compromise”.