D.R. Congo elections: opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi is president-elect

Opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi is the winner of the D.R. Congo’s December 30 presidential elections, the nation’s electoral body has announced.

According to provisional results released on January 9, Mr. Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo secured 38.57% of the votes cast for the presidential race, in which there were 21 candidates.

The Constitutional Court has to confirm by the results before he can be sworn in as the fifth president of the D.R. Congo.

While the results have been well received by his supporters, the other main opposition candidate, Mr. Martin Fayulu of the Lamuka Coalition, has rejected the results, even going so far as to claim some sort of collusion between the ruling party and Tshisekedi. He has called on his supporters to remain vigilant, a statement which carries concern for an outbreak of violence.

Congo’s Catholic Church also claims that, by their tally, Mr. Fayulu should have won the elections.

Tshisekedi is the leader of the UDPS, long the largest opposition party in D.R. Congo, and founded by his father, Etienne Tshisekedi, who passed on in 2017. With the UDPS, the elder Tshisekedi came second in the controversial 2011 elections, which were marred by claims of electoral malpractice.

In the run up to the long-delayed 2018 elections, Mr. Felix Tshisekedi teamed up with Mr. Vital Kamerhe, who had emerged third in the 2011 elections. The two had initially pledged their support for Mr. Fayulu before changing their minds barely a day after declaring their support for Fayulu.

By Matengo Chwanya

Africa Global News Publication