John AdoyiThe Democratic Republic of Congo finds itself in the middle of a political tension as incumbent president, Felix Tshisekedi has been declared winner of the December 20 polls in the country amid calls for annulment of the polls by opposition candidates who claim voter irregularities marred the process.
Tshisekedi, returning for a second tenure, was declared the winner with an impressive 70 percent of the votes cast on December 20th. His closest rival, Moise Katumbi, trailed behind with 18 percent, while Martin Fayulu garnered 5 percent of the total votes. The country’s electoral umpire, Denis Kadima said on Sunday. However, the victory celebration of Tshisekedi who took over power from longtime leader, Joseph Kabila in 2019 after winning 38 percent of the disputed votes has been overshadowed by controversy as opposition leaders and candidates have greatly called for the annulment of the polls.
The calls stem from widespread irregularities reported during the electoral process, ranging from delayed openings of polling stations to issues with the distribution of election materials.
Reports indicate that some polling stations opened late, causing frustration and disenchantment among voters. While others that opened early faced shortages of essential election materials, further raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
Opposition candidates also raised the alarm of places where voting continued till the next day and some other areas that voting lasted for five days, a move that opposition candidates said was unconstitutional.
Five opposition candidates had before results were announced, called for widespread protest in the country’s capital, Kinshasa even though the government placed a ban on it. Martin Fayulu, one of the candidates and President Tshisekedi’s main rival in the 2018 elections, asserted that the opposition candidates, who had organized a joint demonstration citing election irregularities, would proceed with the march as they firmly believed the voting process was fraudulent.
“We intend to protest because we cannot tolerate another electoral coup d’état,” Fayulu said during a telephone conversation with Reuters.
This statement came hours after Interior Minister Peter Kazadi declared that the march lacked legal justification and was designed to undermine the election commission’s ongoing result compilation.
Similarly, Presidential candidate and former Governor in the East African country, Moise Katumbi alleged that the process was marred by “massive fraud” and asked that the entire process be annulled.
Elections in the country of a little over a hundred and two million, have in the past been marred by violence and chaotic scenes. The 2018 polls were announced in the middle of the night to avoid unrest in the country after days of delay and widespread violence.
Various international groups like the Amnesty International and the European Union have appealed for calm in the country.
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Opposition candidates opposing the results have two days to submit their claims, and the constitutional court then has seven days to decide. The final results are expected on January 10, and the president is scheduled to be sworn in at the end of January.
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