In the DRC, is Dr. Mukwege preparing his electoral campaign?

Although he is not yet an official candidate, Doctor Denis Mukwege has denounced the risks of fraud in view of the Congolese presidential election, scheduled for the end of December.

As he plans to run for the next presidential election, Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has already met Emmanuel Macron during the French president's visit to the DRC. Officially, the Elysée had indicated, the objective of the meeting was to "have the most precise and authentic feeling of the humanitarian situation on the spot". But in reality, it was a question of discussing a possible presidential candidacy.

The doctor “who repairs women” therefore says, behind the scenes, that he would see himself applying to become president. But he has yet to officially announce his candidacy. However, Mukwege addressed young Congolese in Bukavu, South Kivu, yesterday. A speech that is both evasive, since he did not talk about his personal case, and which shows that he will have to be counted on in December, if the elections are not postponed.

It was between the walls of the Panzi Foundation that the doctor spoke. And if it has to be placed on the political spectrum, it is now clear that Denis Mukwege will be part of the opposition. His speech this Sunday was indeed a sharp criticism of the current electoral system. The doctor was particularly surprised by the poor quality of the voter cards, which fade. “When we have irregularities of this type, and we are not able to be indignant to say that the way which allows us to make our choice is already biased, what can we hope for? he asked.

A speech that sounds like a call to revolt: "I think that today, the great indignation would be that all those who have their voter cards erased demonstrate to say: 'If you have paid for bad voter cards you have to take responsibility'. But if we shut up and we go to the elections which were prepared to be defrauded, I must say to you: 'Read the history of the Congo and you will see that, from 1885 to this day, the Congolese have never chosen their leaders' .

If he is a candidate, Mukwege will therefore be an offensive and vehement opponent. If he is not, he will most certainly support the opposition to Felix Tshisekedi. But his supporters, they expect above all a strong act: an announcement of candidacy.