Room For Democracy

In less than six months, millions of voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo are expected to vote new parliamentarians and a president. It will be another litmus test in a country that has constantly been on news headlines. Not because of the vastness of its territory, but because of her rich soil that is illegally exploited. For the past years, the country especially in the Northern Province of Kivu has been the theatre of civil conflict between the government and several armed groups. While several peace attempts by government and the international community have failed to bring peace, the December 20, 2023 general elections is another golden opportunity for dissenting voices to down arms and participate in elections. 
Within the country government should create conditions through which everyone can fully participate in the upcoming electoral exercise. It would be very important for the powers that be to listen to the grievances of others. The issue of revision of electoral list and auditing brought forth by some political parties and strongly supported by the Catholic Church should not be taken lightly. This is because in democracy, one of the fundamentals and motivating factor is the number of truly registered voters. An electoral list inundated with fake names of registered voters and dead people would not only lack credibility, but also give room for protests from those who feel they have been cheated. It is therefore time for the different stakeholders to iron out their differences by putting in place clear cut rules of the game and also providing equal means and security to all participating parti...