The National Assembly in the Democratic Republic of Congo has gone ahead and approved the election of Ronsard Malonda as the new President of the country's Independence Electoral Commission (CENI).
Parliament issued a written statement around Wednesday midnight confirming the endorsement, as mandated by Article 12 of the Electoral law.
Malonda was voted by members of the religious denomination, receiving 6 out of the 8 votes.
However the outcome was greeted with strong opposition from the powerful Catholic Church, as it refused to recognise the credibility of Mr Malonda, and raised questions about the election process.
According to the Catholic Church, Ronsard Malonda was a compromised candidate since he had served as the Technical Secretary during the controversial 2018 General Elections. The Catholic Church together with another popular religious group , the Church of Kimbanguist, also raised concern about the Speaker of the National Assembly meddling in the electoral affairs, which they believed tempered with the transparency and fairness of the process.
Given the opposition from these churches, there are fears that wide protests could erupt across the country, to rally behind the Catholic Church.
Few days back , opposition leader Moise Katumbi, approached the United States diplomatic mission in Kinshasa to pile pressure on the government and block the designation of Malonda; arguing that the country cannot mix old and rotten tomatoes with new ones, if it wanted to produce credible elections.
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