Following the historic elections held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in December 2018, the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) is in the country to conduct a post-election review aimed at assessing the implementation of the recommendations of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM). Speaking during a courtesy call by the SEAC delegation, Hon. José Mpanda Kabangu, the Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, re-iterated the DRC' appreciation of the SADC support to her electoral processes, and further noted that the country is committed to conducting its forthcoming elections within the constitutional framework. Hon. José Mpanda Kabangu was standing in for the Minister of Regional Integration under whose mandate matters of SADC regional integration fall.
The SEAC delegation is led by Retired Justice John B. Tendwa, the SEAC Member from the United Republic of Tanzania, and Justice Ticheme Dlamini, the SEAC Member from the Kingdom of Eswatini.
On 15 March 2022, the SEAC delegation also held consultations with the leadership of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) of the DRC which was led by its President, Mr. Kadima Kazadi Denis. Justice Tendwa briefed the CENI leadership on the main aspects of the SEAC post-election review mission, whilst acknowledging the logistical, security and political challenges that confronted the DRC during the elections that were conducted in December 2018. Justice Tendwa highlighted the SADC-wide areas for electoral reform as recommended by the SADC Summit in 2020, as well as the country-specific areas for reform in the context of the consolidation of democracy.
The President of the CENI noted that despite having been appointed in October 2019, the CENI was making progress in addressing areas for improvement in the electoral processes, and was also working to facilitate the delivery of the next elections due in late 2023 in accordance with the Constitution of the DRC. Mr. Kadima also highlighted the fact that voters and political contestants in the DRC expect an efficient and credible CENI, and in that context, the views of local stakeholders, and recommendations of international election observers were critical in improving the performance of the CENI.
The SEAC mission is expected to hold further consultations with stakeholders that include political parties in government and in the opposition, the media, and civil society organisations. As per the norm, and ahead of the elections expected in late 2023, SADC will field a mission to assess if the DRC political and security environment is conducive to conduct such elections in accordance with the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2015).
