In Kinshasa, a turbulent voting day

Published on: 12/20/2023 – 11:33 pman average : 12/20/2023 – 11:36 PM

3 minutes

From our special correspondent in Kinshasa,

” Give me the floor, I have a lot to say! » Fabrice, 39, a builder and musician, is a resident of Kinshasa for whom the Congolese general elections were above all a source of frustration and who want to express their anger on 20 December. ” It’s a bad election! Bad elections “He did not find his name on the electoral lists,” he told reporters.

Read also[À revivre] Elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Voting continues on Thursday for offices that could not open

In another center of the capital, Gabriel (30 years old) sighs. When dawn arrived, this bank agent said regretfully: “ Sigmoid [Commission nationale électorale indépendante, NDLR] They promised us that the elections would start at six in the morning. This is not serious on his part. It was natural for these elections to be postponed, due to lack of logistical means and so on. They do what we call forcing. »

For several weeks, the issue of the possible postponement of these presidential, legislative, local and partial municipal elections has been raised, among other problems. Security in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Logistical challenge In a country four times the size of France, there is a lack of funding. But for Patricio (48 years old), this debate should not exist. ” A true Congolese cannot speak ill of the CongoHe gets upset. The people who talk badly about Congo and who criticize here and there are mostly foreigners who want to sabotage these elections. When there is nothing! Everything has been arranged “This designer confirms: “ For me, everything went very well for the vote. There were some problems when we arrived in the morning. But now everything is resolved and we can do it without a problem. »

” If we were in our first elections, it would have been normal »

This Wednesday, many offices in Kinshasa did not open at the specified times: from 6 am to 5 pm. The fault, in most cases, is that voting machines are not available or not ready to work. The situation recognized by Céni” Delaying the start of voting operations in some offices spread throughout the national territory “I promised that.” All voters who wish to do so will vote “The offices that opened late will work for 11 hours. As for the offices that did not open on Wednesday, they will do so on December 21, confirmed Denis Kadima, President of Céni.

Arguments that are unlikely to mollify Espoir, 33. Arriving at his recruitment place at 6 a.m., this businessman sighs: “ I tasted a shield. I’m thinking of going home. I’m very tired. Imagine you waited six hours without eating. You say to yourself that you have to do your duty as citizens and then this happens… If this were our first election, it would be normal. But it’s already the fourth and we’re supposed to be experts. And yet, we end up with the same bullshit every election. »

For its part, the Ministry of Communications has alleviated the difficulties it faces today. If it is Condemns the acts of vandalism observed […] And included throughout the national territory “, the government ” He congratulated the Congolese people for their mobilization to participate in the elections, which are generally going well across the entire national territory “.

Many opposition leaders, including Denis Mukwege, do not appear to share this enthusiasm. In a press statement, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate said: We are deeply concerned about the proliferation of serious imbalances and irregularities in the current elections “.

Read alsoElections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Congolese called the polls for a crucial vote for the country