With tensions on the rise and mounting concerns about the lack of transparency around official vote tallies, FreeFair DRC calls on the Roman Catholic Church and other international organisations with election observation programmes to release their data.
The Church, which equipped over 6,000 observers with mobile phones and centrally compiled their reports via SMS, has indicated that it will not publish the results collected.
This data – along with that collected by other international organisations such as the Carter Center – is critical to efforts to verify official election tallies released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).
Furthermore, allegations of fraud and impropriety must be immediately addressed in order to prevent the DRC from sliding into further violence and instability.
Speaking of the important role of international observers in determining the legitimacy of the official vote tally, FreeFair DRC's in-country representative Herman Nzeza said: "We are deeply concerned about the validity of the results being released by the CENI. Despite urging from both Congolese and international actors, they continue to refuse to publish detailed, verifiable vote counts.
"The Catholic Church and other organisations that have had robust observer missions have a critical role to play. The treasure trove of data they have collected could make all the difference in the effort to verify that this election has truly been free and fair."
