What you should know ahead of Congo’s presidential election: summary

What we know?

• The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will go to the polls to elect a new president on December 20
• President Felix Tshisekedi is seeking a second term in office after assuming the presidency in 2019
• President Tshisekedi’s first term has been marred with conflict in eastern DRC, the country’s economic crisis and questions over his win in the 2019 election
• The East African Community Regional Forces deployed in November 2022 to the DRC to regain areas controlled by resurgent rebel groups have begun to depart following DRC’s decision to not renew their mandate which ends on December 8, 2023
• The DRC Electoral Commission (CENI) cleared 24 candidates including 2018 presidential candidate Moïse Katumbi to contest the presidential election in October

What they said?

Moïse Katumbi in a meeting with voters said, "I want you to give them a red card. Because they scored zero here, then say goodbye to them. Give me one hundred per cent of the votes here in Idiofa. I am not a man of lies, I will be a president of actions. What I said, I will do. I am the liberator of our country. I came to liberate the Congo, free the children of Idiofa. I am not going to touch my salary, it will contribute to the development of Idiofa." President Tshisekedi while also meeting with voters ahead of the December 20 polls also said “I am counting on you to keep this country united and united because that is how we are going to rebuild it and not through hate speech…They will come to you to solicit votes, they will sell our nation to Paul Kagame in Rwanda. You have to ask them who is the aggressor of our country in the east and they cannot mention Kagame's name. Kagame has candidates among us and he seeks to conquer the country in another way because he has failed in the expansion of his power to the Democratic Republic of Congo.”