Congo's Election Campaign Threatened by Violence and Crisis

Two candidates running for parliament in the Democratic Republic of Congo's upcoming general election were killed in separate incidents, raising concerns about electoral violence undermining the vote. The violence comes amidst other issues such as illegible voter cards, blocked campaign planes, and electoral list delays, which threaten the legitimacy of the results. Human Rights Watch has documented clashes between supporters of rival political parties, resulting in assaults, sexual violence, and at least one death. The violence is reported to be coming from both supporters of the ruling coalition and opposition parties. Additionally, an attack on a village in Ituri province, unrelated to the election, resulted in the decapitation of at least 11 civilians, with the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) being blamed for the attack.