DR Congo: Vote on Electoral Commission reform for political stability?

In the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, a reform of the electoral commission was voted on by the National Assembly.

The move is an attempt to ensure the transparency of the next 2023 elections and the political stability of the African nation.

The text, adopted by 336 of the 337 deputies present out of the 500 total, will now be examined by the Senate and provides for an electoral commission of 15 members.

Respectively, five representatives of civil society, from the majority and the opposition -- which remains unconvinced --- with some politicians alleging a move by President Felix Tshisekedi to legally tailor the commission for electoral fraud.

The opposition Martin Fayulu denounced on Twitter "the forcing initiated by Mr Tshisekedi for the parliament to unilaterally vote a law on the #CENI tailored to prepare electoral fraud in #DRC in 2023.

A candidate in the December 2018 presidential election, Fayulu believes he is the real winner of this election and that he was robbed of his victory by an agreement between the current president and his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.

The electoral reform has also been denounced by the Lamuka coalition, which includes Mr Fayulu and other opponents. Fayulu and other opponents.

The United Nations representative in the country, Bintou Keita, on the other hand, hopes the law will strengthen the commission's depoliticisation, independence, and transparency of the electoral process.