On Wednesday, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) opposed the holding of a mass protest in Kinshasa, the country's capital, by some opposition presidential candidates, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Peter Kazadi said.
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Five presidential candidates announced last week that they would launch a mass protest in Kinshasa on Wednesday to denounce irregularities in the December 20 electoral process, when DRC voters cast their ballots to elect a new president, members of the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies, as well as municipal councilors.
"I can reassure you, there will not be this march. It violates the legal provisions that the contestation of the (election) results takes place at the Constitutional Court," said Kazadi at a press briefing in Kinshasa, alongside the government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya.
Polling was officially extended to the following day, as many polling stations were not able to open due to the late arrival of voting materials and equipment. The extension was deemed against the electoral law and the Constitution by some presidential candidates.
The "irregularities sufficiently attest that on Dec. 20, 2023, it was a sham election, organized in violation of the fundamental right of the Congolese people," according to a statement by the five presidential candidates, including Martin Fayulu and Denis Mukwege, two main challengers in the race, who also demanded the protest Wednesday.
The government has been taking measures both at the level of the army and the police to preserve peace and security throughout the national territory. The population is called upon to remain calm and continue to calmly follow the publication of the election results, said Muyaya.
The protest would start from Triumphal Boulevard, where the parliament is located right next to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), in downtown Kinshasa. So far, none of the candidates initiating the protest has commented on Kazadi's remarks.