Martin Fayulu is running for the second time in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) presidential election, which is being held on Wednesday, December 20. In 2018, the political opponent – nominated by the Lamuka ("wake up" in Lingala) coalition formed against former president Joseph Kabila – declared himself the winner of the election, using as witnesses observers from the Episcopal Conference of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (CENCO).
Five years later, the leader of the Engagement pour la Citoyenneté et le Développement (Commitment to Citizenship and Development, ECIDE) party is still contesting the official results that brought Félix Tshisekedi to power.
Martin Fayulu The first thing to say is that Félix Tshisekedi did not emerge victorious in 2018. He usurped power with Joseph Kabila's complicity. His current record is a chaotic one. There is total insecurity. In areas where it used to be possible to go 24 hours a day, this is no longer possible.
Secondly, theft and corruption have become forms of governance. Félix Tshisekedi's former director of cabinet, Vital Kamerhe, was sentenced by the Congolese courts to 20 years in prison for embezzling $57 million (€ 52.4 million) in public funds. Today, he is free [he was acquitted by the Kinshasa Court of Appeal in June 2022] and has been appointed economy minister.
Thirdly, Félix Tshisekedi has exacerbated tribalism and Congo is dangerously divided. Lastly, jobs have not been created and unemployment has soared, even as the state's expenses have increased. Not to mention that some figures have been imprisoned for no good reason, such as journalists Stanis Bujakera and Salomon Idi Kalonda [the right-hand man of the political opponent Moïse Katumbi, another presidential candidate].
These are lies! I have worked in the oil industry and never improperly accepted a single dollar.
My vision is to build a free, strong, dignified and prosperous Congo with united citizens. We must turn the Congo into a normal country, which means guaranteeing territorial integrity, the rule of law, national cohesion and honest governance. State money must be used to invest in social and public goods. No more theft and corruption! With me, there will be zero tolerance.
The process' credibility has already been tarnished and fraud will likely be massive. Firstly, because the electoral roll is unreliable. Secondly, most of the purchases made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have not been put out to tender.
Moreover, the enrolment operation [voter registration] was totally opaque. Today, a large proportion of voters have not received their ballot cards. Others have documents with faded ink and have to go and get their duplicates, which are only available at INEC offices. These can be a long way from the voters' homes.
That's the date announced by INEC and that's why we are campaigning. If they do not respect it, they will have to draw all the consequences, including reimbursing us for the expenses incurred.
Not at all. In order to make an omelet, you have to break eggs. We refused to involve our MPs to put pressure and demand transparent elections.
The solution lies in our constitution. It says that an independent candidate can be President of the Republic and that each MP joins the majority or the opposition at the end of the elections. When the time comes, I'll talk to these lawmakers and convince them.
It's still a possibility, but first, it's the people who must direct you to a common candidate. In 2018, this was the case. Today, I'm talking to candidates. We are signing joint communiqués with Floribert Anzulini, Pastor Théodore Ngoy, Dr Denis Mukwege, Governor Jean-Claude Baende and Nkema Liloo Bokonzi to call for transparent and impartial elections. There's a lot of common ground here, and some things may take shape later on.
No, not at all. The people are not fools, and they will choose the one who can help move them out of their misery and bring them prosperity.
First, the army must be trained, equipped and patriotic. A border surveillance unit will be created, as well as large military camps in North Kivu. As far as the armed groups are concerned, we need to start demobilizing the combatants. The current program is not working and is poorly designed. Many militiamen joined these armed groups out of poverty, not conviction.
I have no relations with Rwanda at the moment. The M23 is not a rebel group, it's an auxilary of the Rwandan army whose aim is to destabilize the DRC. In the past, North Kivu was the region's bread basket, and other countries like Uganda and Burundi depended on us. But today, because of the situation created by Joseph Kabila and Félix Tshisekedi, the region is being kept in a slave or neo-colonized condition.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.