Association for Free Research and International Cooperation (AFRIC)

Court Upholds Election Win of Tshisekedi in the DRC

KINSHASA, DR Congo, January 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --

The Constitutional court in DRC has confirmed the presidential election victory of Felix Tshisekedi. Tshisekedi stated that the court's decision to reject claims of electoral fraud and declare him president was a victory for the entire country (https://observer.ug/news/headlines/59693-congo-court-upholds-election-win-of-tshisekedi). But Martin Fayulu's declaration that he is Congo's "only legitimate president" and call for the Congolese people to protest threatened to keep the country in a political crisis that has been simmering since the Dec. 30 elections.

The court refused Fayulu's request for a recount of the vote, affirming Tshisekedi won with more than 7 million votes, or 38 per cent, with Fayulu receiving 34 per cent. The court judgment, released in the early hours of Sunday, said Fayulu offered no proof to back his assertions that he had won, based on leaked data attributed to the electoral commission. It also called unfounded another challenge filed by Fayulu that objected to the electoral commission's last-minute decision to bar some one million voters from the election over a deadly Ebola virus outbreak.

The largely untested Tshisekedi, son of opposition leader Etienne, is set to be inaugurated on January 22. The government is expected to resign in the coming days, and the new National Assembly will be installed on January 26 with a small group of members who will then validate the 500 deputies, the majority of whom belong to Kabila's Common Front for Congo party.

Many worried that the court's rejection of the appeal could lead to greater instability in a nation that already suffers from rebels, communal violence and an Ebola outbreak.

The Southern African Development Community on Sunday congratulated President-elect Tshisekedi and Congo for conducting elections in a peaceful manner "despite the security and logistical challenges." 

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