Democratic Republic of Congo opposition candidate Martin Fayulu said on Monday his party would not participate in upcoming elections if the voter list was not redone and audited, claiming fraud.
Fayulu, leader of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party, came in second to President Felix Tshisekedi in the last election in 2018. His party said that he won and he challenged the results in court.
Congolese will go to the polls again for legislative and presidential elections on December 20, when Tshisekedi is expected to seek a second term.
“Everyone knows that the voter identification and registration process in which we participated took place in total opacity, a proof of the planning and execution of fraud,” Fayulu told a press conference in Kinshasa.
“We have decided not to submit the candidacies of our members at all levels of elections, as long as the electoral list is not redone transparently and audited by an external firm,” he said.
Congo’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), in May hired five international experts to review its electoral list, and they declared it reliable.
But the United States, the European Union and other Western powers said in a joint statement that the audit had not “fostered the public perception of independent and transparent oversight”, and was a missed opportunity to build confidence.
The lead-up to the polls has been tense already, with several opposition candidates complaining of delays and issues with electoral process which they say disadvantage them.
Security forces fired tear gas and fought running battles in the streets with anti-government protesters demonstrating last month over alleged irregularities in voter registration.
Parliamentary candidates will be called to submit their candidacy starting June 25, while presidential candidates can submit from Sept. 1, according to the CENI’s calendar.
