Independent National Electoral Commission (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

The Independent National Electoral Commission (French: Commission Électorale Nationale Indépendante; CENI) is the official body responsible for organizing, supervising, and overseeing elections and referendums in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.^[1][2] Initially established on 29 May 2003 as the Independent Electoral Commission (Commission Électorale Indépendante, CEI) to promote free, transparent, and credible elections, it was restructured and renamed as the CENI on 3 March 2011.^[3] The commission is managed by a national bureau that includes a president, vice-presidents, rapporteurs, quaestors, and several other members. Its mandate includes voter registration, candidate accreditation, election logistics, vote counting, and the compilation and publication of results.^[3][1]

With its headquarters on Boulevard du 30 Juin in Gombe, Kinshasa,^[4][1][5] the CENI's operations are supported by specialized commissions, provincial executive secretariats, and local antenna offices in all provinces and major cities. Members and leaders of the CENI are appointed by the National Assembly, with input and oversight from political, religious, and civil society stakeholders.^[3] Denis Kadima Kazadi has served as the CENI's president since 2021.^[6]

CENI's bank accounts are held at the BGFIBank Group.^[7] It held US$55 million as of May 2016.^[7] The same month, it borrowed an additional US$25 million from the BFGIBank,^[7] with $2.4 million in fees.^[8] According to Le Monde, the 2016 presidential elections were postponed on the grounds that the CENI lacked sufficient funds to register voters.^[7]

Since gaining independence on 30 June 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been marked by repeated political instability, driven mainly by disputes over the legitimacy of state institutions and their leaders. These disputes intensified during the First and Second Congo Wars, which ravaged the country between 1996 and 2003. In response to this persistent legitimacy crisis and to rebuild the nation, representatives of political parties and civil society convened within the framework of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue.^[3] This process led to the signing of the Global and Inclusive Agreement in Pretoria, South Africa, on 17 December 2002, which laid the foundation for a new political system based on a democratic constitution. The new constitution enabled Congolese citizens to elect their leaders through free, pluralistic, transparent, credible, and democratic elections.^[3] The task of organizing these elections was assigned to the Independent Electoral Commission (Commission Électorale Indépendante, CEI). The CEI organized a constitutional referendum on 18–19 December 2005 and, one year later, conducted the first genuinely democratic elections in the country's history.^[3]

Established on 29 May 2003, the CEI was later restructured and renamed as the Independent National Electoral Commission (Commission Électorale Nationale Indépendante, CENI) on 3 March 2011.^[3]

The establishment of the CEI and the CENI aligns with the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, which requires African Union member states to create independent and impartial electoral management bodies. The CENI is a permanent public institution with legal personality and enjoys administrative and financial independence.^[3] It operates with its own budget, which may also be supported by external funding. As a constitutionally recognized institution supporting democracy, the CENI is anchored in Article 211 of the constitution.^[3][9] Its organization and functioning are regulated by Law No. 13/12 of 19 April 2013, which revises and complements Law No. 10/013 of 28 July 2010, as well as by its internal rules of procedure.^[3][10]

CENI is composed of two main organs:

• The Plenary Assembly serves as the body responsible for policy formulation, strategic direction, decision-making, monitoring, and evaluation.^[3]
• The Bureau is the executive and coordinating organ, tasked with implementing the decisions adopted by the Plenary Assembly. It also ensures that electoral and referendum legislation is respected by political and administrative authorities, political parties, candidates, witnesses, voters, media professionals, and national and international observers.^[3]

The CENI operates through a National Executive Secretariat (Secrétariat exécutif national; SEN), Provincial Executive Secretariats (Secrétariats exécutifs provinciaux; SEPs) located in each provincial capital, and antennas established in every city and territorial capital. In the city-province of Kinshasa, the number of antennas is determined by a decision of the CENI President adopted by the Plenary Assembly.^[3] Institutionally, the CENI is composed of a president, a vice-president, a rapporteur and two deputy rapporteurs, a quaestor and a deputy quaestor, as well as other members of the bureau.^[3]

The president is chosen from among commissioners representing civil society through an election requiring an absolute majority in the first round. Should no candidate achieve this threshold, a second round is organized, and the candidate with the highest number of votes is elected.^[3] The vice-president steps in for the president in case of absence or impediment and is responsible for supervising legal issues and managing disputes.^[3]

The current leadership of the CENI includes President Denis Kadima Kazadi, First Vice-President Bienvenu Ilanga Lembow, and Second Vice-President Didi Manara Linga.^[11][12][13] Under Daniel Ngoyi Mulunda's presidency, the CENI organized the highly contested presidential and legislative elections of November–December 2011, which significantly weakened public confidence in key political institutions, including the presidency and the National Assembly.^[3]

Pastor Daniel Ngoyi Mulunda served as its second president from February 2011 to June 2013. From October 2013 to 2015, the late Apollinaire Malumalu returned to head the commission until his death on 30 July 2016. Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo led the institution from 2015 to 2021, after which Denis Kadima Kazadi took office in October 2021.^[3][6]

The president's responsibilities, exercised personally or by delegation, include ensuring adherence to the constitution, the organic law, internal regulations, and the CENI's code of ethics. The president convenes and presides over bureau meetings, submits issues for discussion, supervises voting operations, and officially announces voting outcomes. The president directs and monitors the work of bureau members and serves as the legal representative of the CENI before judicial bodies, public institutions, and third parties.^[3]

The president's role also includes ensuring the proper functioning of the bureau, the National Executive Secretariat, the Provincial Executive Secretariats, and the antennas; reviewing reports from the National Executive Secretariat; maintaining discipline within the CENI; requesting law enforcement assistance when necessary; and promoting effective communication among bureau members.^[3] Subject to bureau decisions, the president oversees the recruitment, dismissal, or revocation of agents and technical personnel, and manages financial operations in accordance with applicable financial and accounting laws. The position also entails organizing electoral consultation frameworks, addressing the media through press conferences, approving accreditation for journalists, observers, party representatives, and candidates, appointing electoral staff, proclaiming referendum results, and transmitting referendum and provisional election results to the appropriate courts for official confirmation.^[3]

The National Executive Secretariat (Secrétariat exécutif national; SEN) coordinates activities at the national, provincial, and local levels and serves as the technical and administrative body responsible for implementing CENI decisions. Under the bureau's authority, it plans and executes elections and referendums and reports progress in writing, including weekly updates from each directorate, the provincial executive secretariats, and the antennas.^[3]

It is composed of nine technical and administrative directorates established by the president and approved by the Plenary Assembly, and is headed by a National Executive Secretary (Secrétaire exécutif national; SEN), who manages the Provincial Executive Secretariats and local antennas staffed with administrative and technical personnel.^[3] Mabiku Totokani currently serves as the National Executive Secretary, having succeeded Ronsard Malonda in January 2022.^[14]

At the provincial level, each secretariat is led by a Provincial Executive Secretary (Secrétaire exécutif provincial; SEP), assisted by a deputy who is responsible for administrative and financial affairs, and holds the ranks of director and deputy director, respectively.^[3] Each SEP has four divisions: the operations monitoring division; the logistics and security division; the training, awareness-raising, communication, and gender division; and the legal affairs division. The general executive secretariat has an antenna at the level of each city, territory, and communes.^[3]

At the local level, antennas are led by a head of antenna (Chef d'antenne), supported by a deputy, both with the rank of division head (chefs de division). Each antenna includes four services: logistics and electoral security; voter and candidate registration and accreditation; training, communication, awareness-raising, gender, and civic education; and administrative, financial, legal, and accounting matters, all managed by officers holding the rank of head of service (chef de service).^[3]

The rapporteur, together with deputy rapporteurs, organizes bureau work, drafts minutes and reports, signs minutes with the president, issues official communications when needed, and communicates bureau decisions publicly, acting as the bureau's spokesperson. The role also includes overseeing polling operations and result compilation.^[3] Since 2021, Patricia Nseya Mulela has served as rapporteur, with Paul Muhindo Mulemberi Vahumawa as deputy rapporteur.^[15]

The first deputy rapporteur supports the rapporteur and manages training, awareness, and civic education programs. Meanwhile, the second deputy rapporteur assists the rapporteur, substitutes for the first deputy when required, and supervises voter and candidate registration.^[3]

The quaestor (treasurer) assists the president in preparing and executing the budget, co-signs "all banking instruments and other payments", and supervises administrative, financial, budgetary, and gender-related services under the president's guidance.^[3] The deputy quaestor assists the quaestor, acts in his stead when absent, and manages operational logistics, electoral security, and assets.^[3] Since 2021, Agée Aje Matembo Toto has served as quaestor,^[16] with Sylvie Birembano Balume acting as deputy quaestor.^[15]

Bureau members, without prejudice to their legal powers, supervise sectoral areas, including legal affairs and dispute management; polling, results collection, and communication; training, awareness, and civic education; voter and candidate registration; administration, finance, and budgeting; and operational logistics, electoral security, and asset management.^[3] Members may liaise directly with directors in their sectors while keeping the National Executive Secretariat informed, which provides administrative support; directors report to the secretariat with copies to the president and the supervising bureau member.^[3] The bureau is composed of 13 members appointed by the political forces of the National Assembly: six delegates, including two women, from the Majority, and four delegates, including one woman, from the Opposition. Civil society is represented within the CENI by three delegates drawn respectively from religious denominations, women's organizations defending women's rights, and civic and electoral education organizations.^[3] This composition is predominantly partisan and mirrors the political balance within the National Assembly. Contrary to Article 22 of the Organic Law governing the CENI, members may receive directives from outside authorities, and efforts to assert autonomy are frequently discouraged through pressure that can result in resignation. Civil society representatives, for their part, may shift their allegiance toward those offering the most benefits.^[3]

In October 2021, President Félix Tshisekedi appointed twelve of the fifteen CENI members approved by the National Assembly, following the report of the committee that reviewed candidate applications.^[15]

The three seats reserved for opposition representatives remained unfilled. The opposition denounced the way the process was conducted, calling it disorderly and designed to create a compliant CENI.^[15] The Ensemble pour la République, through its parliamentary groups Mouvement Social-G7 (MS-G7), Alliance des mouvements Kongo (AMK), and allies, also condemned the appointments, arguing that it had not officially selected its representatives, despite one of its elected members being designated as deputy rapporteur.^[15]

CENI relies on specialized commissions responsible for carrying out its duties, particularly the organization and conduct of elections within constitutional deadlines and regulations. CENI applies the administrative principle of division of labor, which divides tasks into smaller, manageable parts. This approach guided CENI in structuring the country's electoral process.^[3] Accordingly, 11 commissions were established to help organize elections that are free, transparent, democratic, and peaceful. Some focus on civic education, others on conducting elections, and others on managing electoral materials, including all necessary documents for the electoral process, with a complete list to be provided during counting or result publication.^[3]

These commissions operate under the supervision of members of the CENI's national bureau:^[3]

• Official website (in French)