DRC: Candidates present appeals ahead of gubernatorial elections

The Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday began considering appeals on the list of candidates for governors and vice-governors elections. 24 nominations for governor and deputy governor have been made across the country.

Unsurprisingly, the former province of Katanga records the highest number of applications: 15 in total. Most of the candidates from the province have popularly identified themselves as opposition candidates.

The candidates have hit out at the government and the Election Commission for attempting to manipulate the list of nominees. The 15 have been under investigation in Lubumbashi since Monday.

First on the appeal list is Gabriel Kyungu, the founder of the National Union of Federalists of Congo (UNAFEC), who denounced the creation of a duplicate party.

Three former ministers of the former governor of Katanga, Moise Katumbi, have also joined the opposition, to challenge the decision by the Electoral Commission to invalidate their applications on the grounds that they should have notified their former parties.

Many opposition candidates said they had more confidence in the decision of the Court of Appeal of Lubumbashi, after the many changes within the judiciary, on the eve of the deposits of appeal.