Democratic Republic of Congo: Race for presidency kicks off

DW (English)

Campaigning is underway in Congo ahead of the December presidential election. But there are concerns the electoral process won't be as free and fair as it should be.

Transcript

00:00 Theatre performances are rare in Kinshasa's Kimbanseki neighborhood.

00:05 This one isn't just providing entertainment, but also information about the upcoming election,

00:15 and why it's important to vote.

00:18 In our community, there are a lot of illiterate people.

00:24 There are many young mothers who haven't had the chance to go to school.

00:29 And that's why we have a problem with information and communication.

00:32 We lack electricity, and it's hard for us to follow the news,

00:37 to have an idea of what is going on in the world.

00:40 We are afraid that there will be fraud.

00:49 They should let us vote for a citizen who has the problems of the population in mind.

00:56 We want the truth, and elections that are really transparent.

01:04 Life in Kinshasa is tough.

01:11 Away from the city center, poor infrastructure makes everything complicated.

01:17 And gang violence is on the rise.

01:25 President Felix Chichikedi, wearing white, is running for re-election.

01:30 He won the 2018 election.

01:33 That was marred by violence.

01:36 And observers say there was massive fraud.

01:39 Even so, it was considered Congo's first democratic transition of power.

01:44 Chichikedi is promising his supporters investment in education and jobs,

01:50 and to stop the war in the East.

01:53 He's leading in the polls, but some say he's taken advantage of his position.

01:57 The practice of hanging up pictures of the president on public buildings,

02:08 or installing banners before the official start of the campaign period,

02:13 I think that this shouldn't be praised as an advantage.

02:18 These are violations of the law that should be denounced

02:22 as they bring the political game out of balance.

02:25 The opposition is divided.

02:30 Martin Fayulu was a strongest challenger in the last election.

02:36 Businessman Moise Ketumbi is popular in the mining region of Kachanga,

02:43 where he was once the governor.

02:47 And Denis Mokwege, a doctor and Nobel Peace Laureate,

02:52 made international headlines when he declared his candidacy.

02:56 Human rights activist Rostin Maketa says he had hoped that civic space

03:02 would open up under Chichikedi.

03:04 But he says that the current situation is mixed.

03:13 We hear about lots of cases of hate speech and intolerance

03:17 by the supporters of certain political parties.

03:20 There are presidential candidates who travelled to certain provinces,

03:30 where people threw stones at them.

03:32 There were attempts to prevent them from holding meetings.

03:43 Back at the theatre, performers compare voting to a Congolese tradition,

03:47 where village communities decide together who gets the privilege to play the drum.

03:52 They're hoping the audience will take the chance to have their say

03:56 in who gets to set the beat for the whole country.

03:59 Back at the theatre, performers compare voting to a Congolese tradition,

04:02 where village communities decide together who gets the privilege to play the drum.

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