On 14 April, the Gender and Political Affaires sections of MONUSCO/Ituri took part in an informal meeting, organized by the head of Gender and Family office of the ex-Ituri district, on the issue of women’s potential participation as candidates in the forthcoming elections.

On this occasion, the Political Affairs section announced it will speak to the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) about the need for the electoral calendar to be widely publicized.

Indeed it was noticed that most of the meeting participants, were not aware of the relevant dates of the CENI calendar, and in particular were unaware of the deadlines set for submission of candidatures.

Also, the lack of financial and logistical resources for electoral and public awareness campaigns was raised by several participants as a major obstacle to their political ambitions.

They mentioned the need for awareness programs on the forthcoming electoral processes, and on the role of elected representatives.

Still, two of the five potential female candidates present at this meeting said they plan to run as independent candidates; the other three represented the major political parties of the DRC.

Laurent Sam Oussou/MONUSCO