DRC: the puzzle of the religious to elect the president of the Ceni

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Who will be the next president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) in the Democratic Republic of Congo? It is the responsibility of the eight representatives of state-recognized religious denominations to choose him, under the Constitution.

Publicity

With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa

Meeting for two days under the moderation of Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, the representatives of the various religious denominations found no consensus. The discussions were heated because the credibility of the 2023 elections depended on it, said a religious leader. Finally yesterday, only Catholics and Protestants communicated. The latter explain the blockage, in a press release, which underlines "  the intransigence of some and persistent rumors of corruption, also for the sake of favoring a consensual solution  ".

“ At this point, each side is blocked. Everyone claims that their candidate is better. It would be ridiculous on the part of spiritual leaders to propose a candidate known to everyone as having acquaintances on the left and on the right,  ”underlines Father Donation N'Shole, secretary general of Cenco, the Congolese episcopate.

Independence issues

These bickering persisted. If the Catholic Church chose Cyrille Ebotoko, currently responsible for the Civic and Electoral Education Program at the Episcopal Justice and Peace Commission of Cenco, the Protestants of the ECC presented Rémy Eyale, a trainer in electoral governance. Problem: he had been a candidate in the last legislative elections for an opposition party.

The kimbanguists therefore point to a problem of independence, but their candidate, Ronsard Malonda, supported by five other representatives of religious denominations, is the current national executive secretary of the Ceni. 
However, the members of the current electoral commission are suspected by Cenco and the ECC of being behind massive fraud.

Even when Cenco withdrew its candidacy, the blockage persisted.

Representatives of six religious denominations led by the Kimbanguists call for the vote. President of the meeting, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo suspended the plenary hoping to find a consensus in the coming days. The charter governing religious denominations provides for a vote only as a last resort, in the event of persistent divergence.

Lay Committee reaction

The Lay Coordination Committee estimated in a press release that it is “  manifestly indecent to envisage, for a single instant, to hoist at the head of the CENI another pawn of the manipulation of the elections which made this meeting sacred between the people and their legitimate leaders, a caricature, a sham vote whose voices are ignored  ”.

This Catholic collective warned the President of the National Assembly that "  the Congolese people will never accept a member of the Nangaa team as head of the CENI  ". In this climate, the Congolese NGO Association congolaise pour acess à la justice (Acaj), through the voice of its coordinator Georges Kapiamba, deplored negotiations carried out "  under pressure from the coalition  " in power before the expected reforms of the Ceni.

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