The Congolese General elections are scheduled for Wednesday, December 20, according to the electoral calendar, which is approximately two months from today. However, there is a high probability that the elections will not take place because Tshisekedi knows too well that he cannot win in a free and fair election. That is why he has devised a two-pronged plan that will guarantee that he stays in power for life.
Here is Tshisekedi’s plan: First and foremost, he has made sure that the Congolese electoral commission (CENI) is ‘well-staffed’, which is a euphemism for a compromised electoral commission that will skew the election results in favor of the incumbent.
Second, Tshisekedi has put in place mechanisms that will ensure that his opponents will not have an equal opportunity to present their electoral agendas to the Congolese. This has already manifested in the violent break up of election campaigns of opponents and the arrest of their electoral agents by the armed forces all over the country.
Tshisekedi’s third strategy is war. Tshisekedi is aware that the international community would concur with him on the fact that elections cannot be held in an environment of war.
Enter the ‘Wazalendo.’ Seeing that he could not circumvent the ceasefire negotiated by regional leaders and supported by the international community, Tshisekedi decided to create the murderous ‘Wazalendo’ coalition.
The ‘Wazalendo’, who in reality are a cocktail of FARDC, factions of FDLR, Mai-Mai, Nyatura, PARECO, CODECO, and mercenaries, are a good cover for Tshisekedi to perpetuate the war in eastern DRC without being directly accused of violating the ceasefire.
With only two months to the elections, there is no end in sight to the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo. Tshisekedi calculates that if one of his strategies fails, one will work. Clearly, his best bet is on the Wazalendo strategy.