The majority party, opposition and representatives of the former rebel leader Pastor Ntoumi have met since Wednesday 25 November in Madingou to prepare for the presidential election in 2021. The vote is scheduled for March. More than a hundred political actors and members of civil society are present at these meetings. What can be expected from these political consultations if the first stated goal is to calm the political climate before this deadline?
It was Deputy Prime Minister Firmin Ayessa who set the stage by launching this political consultation: “What unites us here, through its essence, is for all human societies, the acidity of harmony, the catalyst for peace and the engine of progress,” Ayessa said.
Spokesman for the Congolese Labor Party (PCT, in power), Parfait Ilokise congratulates the mobilization noted at this high mass. “The Madingou 2020 consultation finally beat the participation of the Congolese political class. We therefore congratulate the organizers for that, and especially also the opposition who did not come to assert in this concert “, he pointed out.
Opponent Clément Miérassa, who was not invited to the consultation, rather expected a dialogue to deal with the multidimensional crisis that Congo is going through.
“As a burning problem in the country, it is not just election management. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is there to testify that Congo has many challenges, including the problems of governance and transparency. This governance is political, economic and financial. This applies to all areas, ”Miérassa analyzed.
“Cake Sharing”
But on the side of the most important civil society platforms, we remain skeptical of the progress that may be made.
Consultations with Ewo 2011, Dolisie 2013, Sibiti 2015, Ouesso 2017 and now Madingou … “It has become a ritual”, emphasizes Roch Euloge Nzobo, a little disillusioned. The coordinator of the circle of human rights and development believes that there is not much to expect from these new consultations, only according to him intended to “share the cake” between the participants in the presidential election.
“That means these politicians will come together to say, ‘Yes, we’ll go to the polls, accept that the president is a candidate and that you have your candidates too. Promise that you will not challenge your candidates. will also have opposition members, you will not be gone. ”
He regrets the absence in these consultations of the most virulent opponents, starting with the two ex-candidates, who are still in prison. The same criticism for Joe Ebina Washington, who coordinates the platform for civil society in Congo.
“We do not give credibility to a consultation without the release of political prisoners, including General Mokoko. Because we must remember that it was in connection with the post-election crisis that all this took place, so we cannot hold a consultation without giving freedom to those who must also take part in this consultation. so that there is a general appeasement. “
He continues to appeal for a “real dialogue”, which addresses the fundamental problems in the Congo.
If nothing changes, work on the Madingou consultation will close on Friday, ahead of the celebration of the 62nd anniversary of the Republic’s announcement.
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