The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, won last week's chaotic elections by a wide margin, winning with 73.34% of the votes. The results of the December 20 process were submitted for ratification by the Constitutional Court, but have been objected to by the opposition, citing logistical problems that marred the elections and made participation difficult.
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“Candidate number 20, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, is provisionally elected,” announced this Sunday, December 31, the president of the Congolese Independent National Electoral Commission (Ceni), Denis Kadima.
Tshisekedi won the chaotic elections by a wide margin last week by prevailing over the other candidates with 73.34% of the votes.
Some 18 million people, a figure equivalent to 43% of the electoral roll, attended the presidential elections in which many polling stations opened late, or simply did not open or did not have material, which led the electoral authorities to make the decision. to prolong the process one more day, which was considered illegal by observations and civil society organizations.
In fact, five days after the initial call, there were still people voting in some parts of the country. Additionally, there was no international observation in the processsince the East African Community did not receive permission to access the country and the European Union did not deploy its oversight because it was not authorized by the electoral commission to use its satellite equipment.
Tshisekedi was trying to gain legitimacy after being declared the winner in 2018, in a process in which some observers assured that the victory had actually belonged to Martin Fayulu, who on this occasion placed third, with 5% of the votes, behind the businessman Moïse Katumbi (18%) and ahead of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege (1%), who was recognized for his work operating on women victims of sexual violence.
Little time to protest
The losing candidates have just two days to present their objections, since the Constitutional Court only has seven days to study these complaints, before issuing a ruling on January 10 on whether or not to ratify the results. Tshisekedi's inauguration is scheduled for the end of the month.
“You believed in my commitment so that our country finds its place in the concert of nations”, the president celebrated in a message after learning of the electoral commission's decision. “They have adopted my vision of society. I will spare no effort to achieve more employment, more purchasing power, more access to basic services at all levels.”
Opposition candidates were not satisfied with the results announced this Sunday. “If a foreign country considers these elections to be elections, there is a problem. It is a farce, do not accept the results,” asked Martin Fayulu at a press conference to comment on the decision.
Je rejette categoriquement le simulacre d'élections et les résultats farfelus de la #CENI. Je demande au peuple congolais de protester contre ce nouveau coup d'Etat en application de l'article 64 de notre Constitution. pic.twitter.com/PHjlTyAw37
— Martin Fayulu (@MartinFayulu) December 31, 2023
“These elections are an example of fraud and ballot box stuffingmaking fun of any transparent and credible electoral process and, even more, of democracy,” said activist Bienvenu Matumo, a member of a local human rights defense group.
Violence that does not stop
Under Tshisekedi's mandate, the endemic violence that for years has made the Democratic Republic of the Congo practically ungovernable has worsened. Some 120 armed groups clash throughout the countrywhether for power, control of resources or defense of their communities.
This panorama has worsened with the reactivation, during the Presidency of the re-elected ruler, of the group M23 or Revolutionary Army of the Congo, an armed movement made up mainly of members of the Tutsi ethnic group, which has caused the displacement of at least one and a half million people. who could not participate in the December 20 process because they were forced to leave the circuits where they are registered.
Tshisekedi has not been able to stop this violence. Even the East African Forces, a military coalition of neighboring countries, have failed in that purpose, as have the UN peacekeepers, who have begun their withdrawal.
But the president has activated palliative measures such as health care and free schooling for residents of remote villages, particularly shaken by conflict, and this could have been reflected in the electoral bulletins.
With AP and EFE
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