Michelle ThompsonThe electoral commission announces that Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo has been re-elected for another 5-year term in office.
Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been successfully reelected for a second five-year term, as declared by the country’s electoral commission on Sunday.
In the presidential election held on December 20-21, Tshisekedi secured 73.34% of the vote, equivalent to more than 13 million ballots out of the total 18 million, according to the final results revealed by Denis Kadema Kazadi, the President of the National Electoral Commission.
As the head of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party and serving as the country’s president since January 25, 2019, the 60-year-old Tshisekedi competed against 25 other candidates in an election that witnessed a turnout of 43.23% among nearly 44 million potential voters, as stated by Kazadi during a live broadcast on the public broadcaster RTCN.
The second position was secured by businessman Moise Katumbi, the former governor of the southeastern province of Katanga (2008-2015), who garnered 18.08% of the vote. Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege claimed the third position with a 0.22% share.
Accusations of fraudulent activities
Allegations of election fraud from the opposition have been persistent since the release of partial results following the presidential, legislative, provincial, and local elections.
Martin Fayulu, another candidate from the opposition, voiced his refusal to accept what he called a fraudulent election and the reported results, attributing them to organized and planned fraud.
Various stakeholders also raised concerns about irregularities, particularly the extension of the quadruple ballot from December 20 to December 21 in some remote areas, endorsed by the electoral commission.
The electoral observation mission of the Catholic and Protestant Churches of the Democratic Republic of Congo publicly questioned the legality of this extension on Thursday, noting that voting continued in some areas until Wednesday.
Despite government assurances that chaos would not occur, concerns about tensions loomed large, especially in the context of the country’s ongoing armed conflict against rebels in the east.
With a record 44 million registered voters participating in the elections over four months, candidates campaigned in a generally peaceful atmosphere within the constitutional timeframe.
Denis Kadema Kazadi, the President of the National Electoral Commission, reported instances of candidates displaying “outrageous incivism” against electoral agents to manipulate ballot boxes. However, he emphasized the commission’s ability to organize peaceful elections, noting that the Internet remained accessible, and day-to-day activities continued after the voting.
President Tshisekedi is currently deemed “provisionally elected,” pending the Constitutional Court’s ratification of the results.
