Felix Tshisekedi, others declare intentions to run for Congolese presidential poll

Ahead of the December election, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has declared his intention to run again alongside twenty four other candidates. The leader of the DRC has come under criticism over the recent crackdown on the opposition. The Congolese government has since denied the charges…

The incumbent President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has filed his candidacy for a second term in office.

Tshisekedi is joining dozens of other candidates who have declared their intentions to replace him as the head of the government.

The constitutional court in the country is expected to officially confirm the final list in the next few weeks as the electoral umpire shared the profiles of the 24 candidates on social media platform X, formerly called Twitter.

The unstable central African nation with over 100 million poor people, will hold parliamentary and presidential elections later in December.

With barely a few months until the presidential and legislative elections, the United States and human rights organizations have accused the government of cracking down on opposition and freedom of expression. The charges have been disputed by the presidency.

Opposition candidates have raised concerns about the possibilities of electoral fraud including Nobel prize-winning gynecologist Denis Mukwege, who is contesting for the first time, and Martin Fayulu, who came second to Tshisekedi in the 2018 election – a result he contested in court.

In its reaction the Congolese electoral commission stressed that preparations for the vote are on track and denied allegations of malpractices with the electoral roll which triggered violent anti-government rallies in May.

For the sake of transparency, the European Union has been invited to send an observer mission but the bloc is yet to consider the request, saying the Congolese government would need to fulfil specific conditions before its team can be deployed.