President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Monday that the ongoing violence in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces could delay the general elections scheduled for Dec. 20.
“The persistence of the war in the east of our country risks compromise the electoral process, which is already underway, due to a massive displacement of people from combat zones, the insecurity, and the inaccessibility of these areas,” Tshisekedi told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
About 6 million people are displaced across the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika.
Parts of the mineral-rich North Kivu province are occupied by the M23 rebel group that has been waging wars in Congo for the past 2 decades and voter registration has been delayed.
Tshisekedi urged the international community to help his country restore peace and state authority in Eastern DRC.
He again accused Rwandan authorities of supporting the M23.
In a state address on Wednesday (November 30), Rwandan President Paul Kagame accused Felix Tshisekedi of exploiting the crisis in eastern Congo to delay the presidential election scheduled for 20 December 2023.
“If he is trying to find another way to postpone the next elections, then I would prefer that he uses other excuses, and not us,” Kagame said.
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