DRC: Tshisekedi likely to be declared winner of presidential poll, as results show comfortable lead

DRC – A sweeping victory for incumbent President, Félix Tshisekedi, in the December 20-21 elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo seemed assured on Thursday evening, as partial results became increasingly consistent, officially giving him 76 percent of the vote.

Africanews reported that of the 12.5 million votes counted by the electoral commission, Céni, 60-year-old Tshisekedi, who was seeking a second five-year term, obtained 9.5 million.

He was followed by businessman and former governor of Katanga (south-east) Moïse Katumbi (16.5 percent) and another opponent, Martin Fayulu (4.4 percent).

The twenty or so other candidates on the ballot, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, failed to reach one percent.

Nearly 44 million voters, out of a total population of around 100 million, were called to the polls.

The Céni, did not establish a turnout figure, but Congolese media had already calculated that the incumbent president could no longer be overtaken by his opponents, and ran the headline: “Félix Tshisekedi re-elected”.

However, no official statement was made on Thursday evening.

The Céni’s long-established timetable calls for the publication of the full provisional results of the single-round presidential election on December 31.
The Constitutional Court is due to have the final say in January.

“We will never accept this sham of an election and these results”, the fruit of “organized, planned fraud”, declared Martin Fayulu on Tuesday, when police had just prevented a rally from taking place.

“We will never accept this sham of an election and these results”, the fruit of “organized, planned fraud”, declared Martin Fayulu on Tuesday, as police prevented a first post-election protest demonstration.

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