Kinshasa, April 9th, 2025 (CPA). – Civic education has been recommended to civil society organisations (CSOs) in Kinshasa as one of the priorities of the roadmap for the 2025-2029 electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in a press release received by CPA on Tuesday. « The electoral experts of the platform « Acting for transparent and peaceful elections (Aeta) » recommend that CSOs take ownership of the roadmap for the 2025-2029 electoral process and make electoral civic education one of the priorities of this roadmap, » it is read in the Aeta press release, co-signed by Roland Mutambala, General Secretary and Jerome Bonso, Permanent Secretary. « Aeta calls on parliament to initiate a debate on the general management report of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to have the INEC audited by the Court of Auditors and the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), and to create a political-electoral consensus with the stakeholders in the process of the 5th electoral cycle 2025-2029. To the new Government of National Unity, we recommend that they use great rationality in financing the pre-electoral operations of the Roadmap for the 2025-2029 electoral process« , has revealed the source.
According to the press release, political parties were urged to make an urgent and patriotic appeal to invest in the search for a new political-electoral consensus to ensure transparency, compliance with the Electoral Law and the integrity of the electoral process. The electoral experts of the CSO platform « Aeta » expressed their appreciation of the planning, anticipation and publication of the Roadmap for the 2025-2029 electoral process by INEC on April 4th, 2025. « This invaluable planning and management tool constitutes, for INEC, an important compass for effective management of the electoral process. While endorsing the publication of this tool, Aeta’s electoral experts question the execution and implementation of the aforementioned roadmap for the 2025-2029 electoral process in the troubled political, social and security context, which preceded the general audit of INEC, » has indicated the source. « Aeta’s electoral experts observe and note that in his speech at the publication of the Roadmap for the 2025-2029 electoral process, INEC President Denis Kadima forgot to highlight the weaknesses or irregularities in the electoral operations of December 20th 2023. These include weaknesses relating to the management of financial, human and material resources », has ruling the press release. The press release stressed that the political, social and security context was not conducive to the execution and implementation of the 2025-2029 electoral process, particularly for the following reasons: the establishment of State authority in DRC’s 26 provinces and the securing of the electoral process throughout the national territory; and the lack of results of audits of the overall management of the CNI by the National Audit Office and the IGF. It should be noted that this press release constitutes the technical viewpoint of Aeta’s electoral experts on the publication of the Roadmap for the 2025-2029 electoral process by INEC, dating from April 4th 2025. ACP/