DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi has won a second term in office with a landslide victory.
The country’s election commission while declaring the results on Sunday said Tshisekedi won reelection with more than 70% of the vote.
Tshisekedi was followed by businessman Moise Katumbi, who received 18% of the vote, and Martin Fayulu, who received 5%. Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, a physician renowned for treating women brutalized by sexual violence in eastern Congo, got less than 1%.
The election had more than a 40% turnout with some 18 million people voting. The results will be sent to the constitutional court for confirmation, election chief Denis Kadima said.
Flanked by his wife Denise and his mother, the president appeared on a balcony at his campaign headquarters in the capital Kinshasa to address supporters after the release of the results.
“I have been re-elected president of all Congolese,” Tshisekedi, who was dressed in a white shirt and cap, told cheering supporters. “It’s in this spirit of openness that I will exercise this second mandate.”
Tshisekedi, 60, first came to power in January 2019 after a disputed election that many observers said he had in fact lost.
Meanwhile, 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 that month.
Congo has a history of disputed elections that can turn violent, and there’s little confidence among many Congolese in the country’s institutions. Before the results were announced Sunday, opposition candidates, including Katumbi, said they rejected the results and called on the population to mobilise.
The logistical problems included many polling stations being late in opening or not opening at all. Some lacked materials, and many voter cards had smudged ink that made them illegible.
Voting in the election had to be extended into a second day—something local observers and civil society organisations have called illegal—and parts of the country were still casting ballots five days after election day.
Mr Tshisekedi’s first term was defined by three major factors including questions over the legitimacy of his 2019 election victory, violence in eastern DRC, and the state of the country’s economy. In his first term, he vowed to make his country “the Germany of Africa” by growing the economy and creating jobs for the people. However, he did not achieve his ambitious goal of transforming the vast country.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to face a number of issues, including political instability, violence, and economic challenges. The country has a long history of conflict, authoritarian rule, and exploitation of natural resources. The ongoing humanitarian crisis has led to the forced displacement of populations and a rise in internally displaced people.
In recent years, the country has experienced a spike in violence, particularly in the eastern region. Clashes involving militant groups over territory and natural resources, extrajudicial killings by security forces, political violence, and rising tensions with neighbouring Rwanda have contributed to deadly conflicts. The UN has declared that the number of internally displaced people has reached a record high of 6.9 million as fighting renders a growing part of the country unsafe for civilians.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES ON PRUDENCE JOURNAL
Jumia stops food delivery services in Nigeria and other African markets over profitability concerns
Tems opens up on pregnancy rumours with US rapper Future, says she got death threats
US House of Reps launches Republican impeachment inquiry against Biden
Afrobeat superstar Wizkid donates N100 million to children for Christmas
South African singer Zahara dies of liver complication at 36
Nigeria’s central bank to freeze accounts without BVN or NIN
Elon Musk blasts advertisers who pulled spending from X
70-years-old woman delivers twins after 40 years of barrenness
Israel Fails to Provide Evidence of Hamas Command Center in Al-Shifa Hospital Raid