Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was re-elected for a second term on Sunday by the country’s election commission CENI, having received over 73% of the vote in a poll conducted on December 20.
The announcement of the results comes after the opposition complained about the election’s procedures for several days.
A conflict that threatens to further destabilise a country approximately the size of Western Europe, the world’s top producer of cobalt and other valuable industrial metals, has been fuelled by logistical difficulties, an election day overrun, and an opaque vote count.
Denis Kadima, the chairman of CENI, announced the results in the capital Kinshasa. He stated that Tshisekedi had received more than 13 million of the more than 18 million legitimate ballots cast, and that more than 43% of voters had participated.
When Kadima declared that Tshisekedi had been provisionally elected, the supporters of Tshisekedi who had been present burst into cheers.
Following the announcement, Tshisekedi addressed a crowd of hundreds at his campaign headquarters. Accompanied by his mother and wife, he expressed gratitude to supporters and pledged to expedite initiatives aimed at addressing inequality in his second term.
“You believed in my fight against inequalities that have for a long time characterized our society,” he said.
Rival political parties, candidates, and people on their payroll have two days to file a constitutional court challenge against the election results. After then, the court has seven days to make a decision and announce the outcome.
Front-runner of the opposition Moise Katumbi, who received 18% of the vote, has already said that he will not be launching a legal challenge against the results, citing the purported lack of independence of state institutions.
The other opposition candidates have not made it clear if they want to contest the outcome.
Nine opposition presidential candidates, including Katumbi, and six political party leaders called on supporters to demonstrate in the streets following the announcement of the preliminary results earlier on Sunday.
