The leader of the M23 rebels, Bertrand Bisimwa has expressed skepticism about the forthcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) in the DRC announced that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held on December 20, 2023, with a budget exceeding $600 million, of which more than $450 million had already been allocated at the time of the announcement.
Eectoral challenges are not uncommon in the DRC, with the last presidential poll, marking its initial democratic transition, being delayed by two years until finally taking place in December 2018.
In that election, President Felix Tshisekedi Joseph Kabila.
In the forthcoming election, 24 candidates including the incumbent, Tshisekedi are up for election and notable among these are Nobel Prize-winning gynecologist Denis Mukwege, running for the first time, and Martin Fayulu, who contested the 2018 election results in court after coming second to Tshisekedi.
Despite substantial funds invested in one of the United Nations' largest peacekeeping forces, over 120 armed groups, including the M23 rebels, continue to operate in the east.
In a press briefing at Bunagana on Saturday,, Bisimwa criticized the upcoming election, arguing that organizing an election while ignoring areas still under M23 occupation is senseless.
Flanked by other M23 leaders including Lawrence Kanyuka and Maj.Willy Ngoma amongst others, Bisimwa accused the DRC government of violating the February 2023 peace deal, which proposed a ceasefire from both parties.
The M23 leadership also decried the international community's silence regarding alleged acts of ethnic cleansing by the Kinshasa government against its population.
They pointed to the bombing of towns heavily populated by civilians and the malicious destruction of public and private infrastructure as acts of impunity.
M23 urged Congolese citizens currently seeking refuge in Uganda to return home if they are from the currently peaceful areas.
Since March 2022, over 520,000 people have been displaced due to the M23 movement's resurgence in North Kivu.
