Democratic Republic of the Congo
Authors: Koen Vlassenroot, Hans Hoebeke, and Josaphat Musamba
ABSTRACT:
Two dynamics dominated the political and social context in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One was the electoral process, which was concluded with presidential, parliamentary, provincial, and local elections held on 20 December. As expected, incumbent Félix Tshisekedi won the presidential elections and succeeded in gaining a large majority in the national parliament. The overall participation rate was the lowest since the first post-war elections and multiple irregularities affected the credibility of the electoral process. The second dynamic was the further intensification of the conflict with the Rwandan-backed M23 in North Kivu Province. Tensions between the DRC and Rwanda built up further, creating growing fear of a direct military confrontation. Regional efforts to reduce tension had limited success. Growing distrust between the DRC and Kenya led to an end of the EAC military intervention in North Kivu. This was replaced by a SADC-led military initiative. Both the Nairobi peace process focusing on internal dynamics within the DRC and the Luanda peace process targeting regional actors involved in the current conflict had little impact. In other parts of eastern DRC, security conditions also worsened due to intensified military activity of Congolese and foreign non-state armed actors. At the end of 2023, a record 6.9 m IDP s were recorded in the DRC.
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