By Frank Kamuntu
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s electoral commission (CENI) has released partial results from the 20-21 December presidential election, with incumbent leader Félix Tshisekedi in the lead.
According to results that had been released as of Monday, 25 December, Tshisekedi was leading by a wide margin – over 80% of the vote.
Reports show that the results announced so far relate to 1,876,827 voters, out of a total of nearly 44 million registered in the vast country of around 100 million inhabitants.
At this stage of the vote count, according to the electoral commission, Tshisekedi, who has been in power since the beginning of 2019 and is running for a second five-year term, has achieved a score of 81.4%.
Tshisekedi was followed by businessman and former governor of Katanga (southeast) Moïse Katumbi (15.18%) and the other opponent Martin Fayulu (1.2%).
Opposition Protests
Five opposition presidential candidates called the joint demonstration in the capital Kinshasa citing election irregularities.
But on Tuesday the government said it would ban the event, saying it did not have a legal basis and aimed at undermining the electoral process while the CENI election commission was still compiling results.
“No government in the world can accept this, so we will not let it happen,” Vice Prime Minister Peter Kazadi told a press conference.
The protest’s organisers did not immediately respond to the ban – which could exacerbate tension surrounding the Dec. 20 presidential and legislative vote that will determine whether Tshisekedi gets a second term.
Election disputes often fuel unrest in Congo and risk further destabilising Africa’s second-largest country, which is a major cobalt and copper producer but is plagued by widespread poverty and insecurity in its eastern region.
After a violent campaign, the vote itself was messy, with delayed election kit deliveries, malfunctioning equipment and disorganised voting registers.
The CENI’s decision to extend voting at polling stations that failed to open on election day was rejected by the protest organisers, who have also called for a full re-run of the vote.
Some independent observers also said the extension compromised the credibility of the election.
Have An Advert Or Article You Want Us To Publish? Whatsapp: +256760530830.
