The DRC’s Crumbling Legitimacy

The 2011 elections were the first polls of the postconflict period in which the government of the DRC, rather than the international community, drove the process, providing most of the funds and managing most aspects of the balloting. Credible elections would have marshaled the political and social forces necessary to consolidate peace and democracy. Instead, the Congolese government and its international partners failed to live up to these promises and expectations. The presidential majority’s determination to maintain power at all costs and the international actors’ lack of commitment to democracy in the DRC have led to a paralyzing crisis of legitimacy.