DRC: campaign for 20 December legislative and presidential elections kicks off

Over 100.000 candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have officially launched a month-long campaign for the legislative provincial and municipal elections due to be held on 20 December, which also include 26 candidates running for the highest office, just as conflicts besetting several parts of the country threaten to hamper the political process.
Some 44 million registered voters out of a population of around 100 million will be called upon to elect their president and members of the national parliament and of regional assemblies in DRC’s 26 provinces, as well as local councillors. Launched on Sunday (20 November), the campaign is held in a tense political climate and against the backdrop of community conflicts in several provinces. The challenges are enormous — as one of the world’s top producers of cobalt and copper, DCR has vast resources, but is also afflicted by numerous conflicts and endemic corruption.
As the 60-year-old incumbent President Tshisekedi, who seeks re-election, prepares to run against 25 candidates, the opposition is still discussing a joint candidate. During the first pre-election rallies, Tshisekedi praised the achievements of his government, stressing that his free education policy had been a success, and called on supporters to give him a second term to consolidate his achievements. Meanwhile, Martin Fayulu will be one of the main challengers to Tshisekedi, who beat Fayulu in the December 2018 ballot. Fayulu, who came second in the 2018 election, disputed the outcome of the vote at the time, claiming he had been robbed of victory.