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As the President’s supporters celebrate the victory, the opposition and a section of civil society demand a rerun of the vote alleging massive logistical problems that put the validity of the outcome into question
Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi won re-election with more than 70% of the vote and will continue to rule the country for the next term, according to the preliminary results of the Dec. 20 election. As the President’s supporters celebrate the victory, the opposition and a section of civil society demand a rerun of the vote alleging massive logistical problems that put the validity of the outcome into question.
In their joint statement, the nine opposition candidates pointed to irregularities observed before, during, and after the voting process. They said the conduct violated the electoral law with the continuation of voting for six days, the existence of parallel polling stations, and the control of voting machines by candidates they identify as having links with the current regime. Also, the opposition points out that the election had a lower turnout at 40% of the total electorate. Only 18 million people voted from a large pool of electorates counted at over 44 million. President’s supporters point out that such voting percentage is comparable with other countries in Africa and elsewhere.
Other prominent presidential aspirants could not make a mark. Businessman Moise Katumbi, who received 18% of the vote, and Martin Fayulu, who received 5% came second and third in terms of voting percentage. Notably, Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, a physician renowned for treating women brutalized by sexual violence in eastern Congo, got less than 1%. The results will be sent to the constitutional court for confirmation.
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Opposition candidates have two days to submit their claims. The constitutional court will have to ratify the election in seven days after scrutinizing the complaints filed by the opposing candidates. The final results are expected on January 10.
The new president is scheduled to be sworn in at the end of that month. Congo has a history of disputed elections that can turn violent. There is little confidence among many Congolese in the country’s institutions. The powerful Catholic Church also flagged their concern on the way the elections were held, pointing out logistical problems and late opening or no opening of the polling stations. Many voter cards had smudged ink that made them illegible. There were also clashes between supporters of presidential candidates.
