DR Congo’s Presidential Election Enters Second Day As Opposition Cries Fraud

Voting in DR Congo’s presidential election entered its second day after several problems meant voting was delayed in some polling stations on Wednesday, December 20, 2023.

Despite the challenges, the head of the Central African country’s electoral commission Denis Kadima estimated that not less than 70% of registered voters have cast their votes.

President Félix Tshisekedi is running for a second term in office and is challenged by 18 candidates out of which four has called for cancellation of the election.

Related: DR Congo President Tshisekedi Likens Rwanda’s Paul Kagame To Hitler

2018 presidential election runner-up Martin Fayulu described the election as “total chaos,” and insisted that “If all the people don’t vote in all the polling stations indicated by the CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission), we won’t accept these elections.’’

Another presidential candidate and Nobel Peace Laureate Denis Mukwege said that the “electoral fraud of the century (was) taking place” in the mineral-rich nation.

Delay in the delivery of electoral materials and technical glitches have marred the conduct of the election.

Electoral materials were supposed to arrive early and the 75,000 polling stations were expected to open just after sunrise but the delays meant things changed along technical problems that saw electronic voting machines faulty.

In some areas, voting continued late in the night. Information from the Symocel observer group said that close to 60% of polling stations opened late on Wednesday while 30% of electoral materials were faulty.

Reacting to the challenges on Wednesday evening, CENI chief Denis Kadima said that “not less than 70%” of the 44 million registered voters population casted their ballots on Wednesday and promised that “those who couldn’t will vote tomorrow. You’ll see that the polling stations won’t be as crowded as they were today.”

In places where voting has been concluded, counting has begun as the winner is expected to be announced on December 31, 2023.

Critics have questioned the ability of African countries to conduct credible elections. It will be recalled that the Nigerian presidential election on February 25, 2023 faced similar challenges alongside violence and oppression of voters.