ATLANTA (July 24, 2024) — The Carter Center today released the final report from its international election observation mission to the December 2023 general elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
While there were improvements from the previous electoral cycle — including an improved approach by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), the mission’s overall conclusion is that the process fell short of meeting some key international commitments for democratic elections.
The elections took place in the context of widespread mistrust in the electoral process, a sentiment rooted in the conduct of previous elections. In addition, ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the country impacted the election process, including voter registration, campaigning, election day operations, and the cancellation of voting in three territories.
The CENI worked to hold the elections within constitutional deadlines. However, the tight electoral calendar impacted the quality and transparency of the process. Although a new voter register was created, the process appeared to under-register eligible citizens, and the resulting register was not fully and transparently audited. Problems with the printing of voter cards and delays in publishing voter lists left some voters uncertain as to whether they would be able to participate on election day. Limited voter education did not reach all eligible citizens, particularly women and people from marginalized communities, such as indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and people internally displaced by conflict.
The election campaign was competitive, but below the presidential race, many parties and candidates had limited financial means to engage voters. At times the campaign was not fully fair due to violent incidents and to the abuse of administrative resources on behalf of ruling coalition candidates. Interethnic hostility, misogynistic attacks, and anti-LGBTIQ+ sentiment were at times fueled by hate speech on social media.
There were also notable positive aspects of the election process. Candidate registration was highly inclusive from a political party perspective, resulting in a wide range of choices for voters. However, women were significantly underrepresented as candidates, as were other groups. For the first time since the adoption of the 2006 constitution there were municipal council elections in some cities, and a pilot program was organized for out of country voting. The thousands of citizen observers deployed across the country added an important measure of transparency, and the engagement of citizens as election officials, party agents, observers, candidates, and voters demonstrated their strong commitment to democracy.
Unfortunately, logistical challenges, in part due to the compressed electoral calendar, affected the delivery of materials required for voting and caused numerous polling stations to open late or not at all in many parts of the country. The CENI extended voting over multiple days but was not transparent about the extent of the problems. The widespread delays generated frustration among voters and gave the impression that the CENI had lost control of the process. The vote tabulation process deviated significantly from established procedures, which reduced transparency, as party agents and observers could not witness results tabulation. The results of 81 National Assembly candidates were annulled over allegations of fraud. The Constitutional Court handled disputes promptly, but it did not always clarify the grounds for its decisions.
The Carter Center’s final report offers recommendations to the Congolese government and parliament, the CENI, the Constitutional Court, political parties, and others. A key recommendation for the authorities is to organize an inclusive national dialogue on election reform, taking into account the views of political parties and civil society, as well as recommendations by domestic and international election observation missions.
The Carter Center makes specific recommendations regarding the legal framework, the electoral calendar, voter registration, audits and certification of electronic voting machines, post-election audits of the results, regulation of campaign finance, training of polling officials, voter education, the media and social media environment, the conduct of municipal elections, and the need for greater inclusion of women and other underrepresented groups as voters, candidates, and election officials.
Finally, the need to continue improving transparency is relevant to all aspects of the election process and will be crucial to building public confidence in future elections.
Background
The Carter Center launched an international election observation mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2023 after receiving an invitation from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Center deployed 44 international election experts and observers, including 24 long-term observers in 12 provinces, to observe the presidential, National Assembly, provincial assembly, and municipal elections. For election day, the mission was led by Catherine Samba-Panza, former transitional president of the Central African Republic.
The Carter Center IEOM was limited in scope, as it did not include a full short-term observer delegation. Therefore, the Carter Center IEOM election day observations were not necessarily representative of processes across the country. The Carter Center encourages Congolese citizens and other stakeholders to consider the findings and recommendations of citizen observation organizations, which deployed tens of thousands of observers over the election day period.
The Center conducts its work in accordance with the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and makes assessments based on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s national legal framework, as well as regional and international obligations and standards for democratic elections.
The Carter Center has worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2006 and has established a permanent office in the country, supporting citizen election observation networks, human rights defenders, and civil society-led efforts to increase the transparency of extractive industries in the country. The Center observed the 2006 and 2011 national elections and deployed an expert team for the 2018 elections. In addition, the Center has provided technical assistance to electoral reform efforts and to citizen observation organizations.
Final Report | General Elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, December 2023
Rapport Final | Elections générales en République Démocratique du Congo, Décembre 2023
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Contact: In Atlanta, Maria Cartaya, maria.cartaya@cartercenter.org
In Kinshasa, Jason Kibiswa, jason.kibiswa@cartercenter.org
The Carter Center
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
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