DRC President Felix Tshisekedi Says Unrest In East Could Disrupt December Polls

Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday said that the ongoing conflict with rebels in the eastern part of the country could likely disrupt preparations for general elections that have been scheduled to take place in December this year, reported Reuters.

Congo’s electoral commission began voter registration on February 17 in North Kivu province, parts of which are under the control of the M23 rebel group. The Tutsi-led militia group has been engaged in an offensive against Congolese troops for almost a year.

The fighting has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, raising concerns about the preparations for the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled later this year.

“The persistence of the war in the east of our country risks jeopardizing the electoral process, which is already underway, due to a massive displacement of people from combat zones, the insecurity, and the inaccessibility of these areas,” Tshisekedi told the UN Human Rights Council session.

The DRC president made an appeal to the international community to help his country restore peace and state authority in the troubled eastern part of the country.

He went on to accuse Rwandan authorities of supporting the M23. Rwanda, on the other hand, continues to deny the allegations.

In an interview with Reuters, three Congolese and foreign electoral experts said that there are possibilities that the DRC electoral commission could postpone the polls. The deadline for voter registration has already been delayed twice in more than a dozen western provinces owing to technical problems.

Voter registration has not been possible in the territory which is currently under the control of the M23 group in North Kivu.

Tshisekedi added that the DRC government has asked the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to hold a discussion between Congo, Rwanda, and the UN agency about repatriating refugees.

In January, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said that he would no longer accept refugees from Congo. There are around 72,200 Congolese refugees in Rwanda and almost 210,000 Rwandan refugees in the DRC, according to the UNHCR.