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Riot police deployed in DRC ahead of presidential election results Congo election: Felix Tshisekedi declared winner in contentious result
(35 minutes later)
Riot police have been deployed to protect election officials in the DRC as it braced for the announcement of the results of the presidential vote held 11 days ago. Felix Tshisekedi, the leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s main opposition party, has been declared the surprise winner of the 30 December presidential election in the vast central African country.
Security forces took up positions outside the offices of the DRC’s election commission and elsewhere in the capital, Kinshasa, amid fears that violence would mar the first electoral transfer of power in 59 years of independence. The result, announced early on Thursday, means the first electoral transfer of power in 59 years of independence in the DRC.
Pre-election polls had given opposition frontrunner Martin Fayulu, a respected former business executive, a healthy lead. It will come as a shock to many observers who believed authorities would ensure that the government candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, would be the victor in the polls, the third since the end of a bloody civil war in 2002.
Fayulu’s supporters believe outgoing President Joseph Kabila plotted to rig the vote in favour of his hand-picked candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, or do a power-sharing deal with Tshisekedi, head of the DRC’s main opposition party. Vote tallies compiled by the DRC’s Catholic church found Fayulu clearly won the election, two diplomats told Reuters, raising the spectre of a standoff that many fear could lead to violence. DRC officials postpone presidential election results
Lambert Mende, the communications minister, fuelled fears of disorder by telling reporters on Wednesday that there was “a time to oppose each other and fight an election but also [a time] to unite” when asked about a possible government pact with Tshisekedi. On Thursday, Tshisekedi paid his respects to Kabila, whom he described as “an important partner … in democratic transition in our country”.
Congolese election rivals deploy musical powers of persuasion Speaking to thousands of cheering supporters in the capital Kinshasa, Tshisekedi said he would be the president “of all Congolese”.
Optimists hope the election, which passed off mostly peacefully, could chart a road to a better future, but any widespread perception of electoral fraud could set off a destabilising cycle of unrest, repeating violence that followed elections in 2006 and 2011. The Tshisekedi’s victory is deeply controversial as pre-election polls had given outspoken opposition frontrunner Martin Fayulu, a respected former business executive, a healthy lead.
“We don’t want people to die when they announce [the results], blood to be spilled,” said Kinshasa resident Ohn Kabamba. “We are fed up, we are tired and we are waiting for a peaceful announcement which will allow us to rejoice rather than cry.” Polls put Fayulu on 47%, at least 20 points ahead of Tshisekedi. Vote tallies compiled by the DRC’s Catholic church found Fayulu clearly won the election, two diplomats told Reuters, raising the spectre of protests that many fear could lead to violence.
“If the [election commission] announces the true results of the ballot boxes it will be calm but if not, I don’t know what will happen,” said another Kinshasa resident, Abraham Tumba. Fayulu’s supporters feared outgoing president Joseph Kabila would rig the vote in favour of his hand-picked candidate, or do a power-sharing deal with Tshisekedi, head of the DRC’s main opposition party.
The internet has been cut off for more than a week to preserve “public order” and security agencies were on alert across the country. Fayulu immediately rejected the result. “Where did the extra seven million votes come from [for Tshisekedi’s victory]? In 2019, we refuse that the victory of the people be stolen once more,” he said.
“Everyone ... voted against the government in place. We are preparing fully to demand victory if it is stolen from us,” said Augustin Bujiriri, 25, a student in the eastern city of Goma. Riot police were deployed outside the offices of the DRC’s election commission and elsewhere in the capital, Kinshasa.
Already delayed by two years, the poll was postponed by a further week to allow more time to overcome logistical challenges in a country of 80 million inhabitants spread over an area the size of western Europe with almost no metalled roads. Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, said he “takes note” of the announcement and urged all parties to “refrain from violence and … to channel any electoral disputes through the established institutional mechanisms.”
The opposition was weakened by internal arguments and the exclusion by the electoral commission of two political heavyweights: Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former warlord, and Moïse Katumbi, a popular tycoon.
Tshisekedi’s father, Etienne, was a famous opposition leader under Mobutu. He died last year and his son has inherited his party, and with it a chance of winning power.
Critics say Tshisekedi, 55, is unproven, inexperienced and lacks the charisma of his father.
“His father was a man of the country. The son is very limited,” Valentin Mubake, a former secretary-general of Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress told the Guardian last month.
Already delayed by two years, the announcement of results was postponed by a further week to allow more time to overcome logistical challenges in a country of 80 million inhabitants spread over an area the size of western Europe with almost no paved roads.
Kabila’s second electoral mandate expired in 2016 and he only reluctantly called new elections under pressure from regional powers. The constitution forbade him from standing again and critics claimed he hoped to rule through Shadary, who has no political base of his own.Kabila’s second electoral mandate expired in 2016 and he only reluctantly called new elections under pressure from regional powers. The constitution forbade him from standing again and critics claimed he hoped to rule through Shadary, who has no political base of his own.
‘He will bring light into our darkness’: DR Congo pins hope on a new leader
The Roman Catholic church is a powerful institution in this devout country, and in a joint declaration with a group of Protestant churches and election observer mission Symocel, the Catholic bishops’ conference called for calm and demanded that the DRC’s election board, CENI, publish “only results that come from the ballot box”.The Roman Catholic church is a powerful institution in this devout country, and in a joint declaration with a group of Protestant churches and election observer mission Symocel, the Catholic bishops’ conference called for calm and demanded that the DRC’s election board, CENI, publish “only results that come from the ballot box”.
Tshisekedi’s camp earlier said it expected to win and had met with Kabila’s representatives to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
On Tuesday, Fayulu and six other presidential candidates issued a statement saying that the results “cannot be negotiated”.
Domestic election observers say they witnessed serious irregularities on election day and during vote tallying, although a regional observer mission said the election went “relatively well”.Domestic election observers say they witnessed serious irregularities on election day and during vote tallying, although a regional observer mission said the election went “relatively well”.
Kabila has ruled since the 2001 assassination of his father, Laurent Kabila, who overthrew long-serving dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997. Kabila, 47, has ruled since the 2001 assassination of his father, Laurent Kabila, who overthrew long-serving dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997.
Whoever takes power via the ballot box would be the first to do so since prime minister Patrice Lumumba was toppled in a coup less than three months after the DRC won its independence from Belgium in 1960. Lumumba was killed four months later. Tshisekedi is the first leader to takes power via the ballot box in the DRC since prime minister Patrice Lumumba shortly after the DRC won its independence from Belgium in 1960. Lumumba was toppled in a coup and killed four months later.
The DRC suffers from widespread corruption, continuing conflict, endemic disease, and some of the world’s highest levels of sexual violence and malnutrition. It is also rich in minerals, including those crucial to the world’s smartphones and electric cars.The DRC suffers from widespread corruption, continuing conflict, endemic disease, and some of the world’s highest levels of sexual violence and malnutrition. It is also rich in minerals, including those crucial to the world’s smartphones and electric cars.
Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
AfricaAfrica
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