The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and CSIS Africa Program hosted:

 

Election Preparations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

 

With:

 

Reverend Daniel Mulunda-Nyanga

Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI)

Democratic Republic of Congo

 

Barrie Freeman

Deputy Regional Director, Central and West Africa

National Democratic Institute (NDI)

 

Daniel Laurent

Program Officer, Central Africa

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)

Additional Speakers TBD

 

Moderated by:

 

Jennifer Cooke

Director, CSIS Africa Program

 

In November 2011, the DRC is scheduled to hold multiparty elections for only the second time in five decades. The Reverend Daniel Mulunda-Nyanga, chairman of the DRC’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), faces a tight timeline, substantial logistical hurdles, and an increasingly crowded field of challengers to incumbent Joseph Kabila. He will provide an update on the CENI’s progress in organizing the vote, and outline the remaining challenges facing the commission in the months to come. Barrie Freeman will provide context on the importance of these elections to the DRC's democratization process in light of political developments elsewhere on the continent, and Daniel Laurent will discuss the civic and voter education activities of IFES.