DRC: The CENI postpones the senatorial elections, as well as the elections for Governors and Deputy Governors in the provinces of North Kivu and Mai-Ndombe.

This postponement is a result of the ongoing insecurity in these provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"The CENI, considering that the populations of the territories of Kwamouth in the Mai Ndombe province, Masisi and Rutshuru in the North Kivu province have not been identified and registered due to the prevailing insecurity, and consequently, the Mai Ndombe and North Kivu provinces do not have any grand electors representing the aforementioned territories for the election of Senators as well as for the election of Governors and Deputy Governors, the elections of Senators, Governors, and Deputy Governors are postponed to a later date in these provinces," announced the CENI in a communiqué signed by its reporter, Patricia Nseya, to justify this decision.

For the record, the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu have both been under a state of siege since May 3, 2021. To this end, the elections for provincial governors and deputy governors will not be held, according to the electoral commission. Regarding the province of Ituri, only the election of Senators will be organized, the CENI document specifies.

Moreover, it is important to know that the elections of Senators and Governors and Deputy Governors are indirect suffrage elections, that is to say, it is the provincial deputies who will elect the senators, governors, and deputy governors.

According to the readjusted electoral calendar, the Bureaus for Reception and Processing of Candidacies (BRTC) will be open and operational from February 2 to 16, 2024, for 15 days. March 31, 2024, is the scheduled date for the organization of the Senate elections, and a week later, on April 7, 2024, will occur the organization of the governor and deputy governor elections.

Gisèle Mbuyi