DRC Opposition Chief Wins Vote As Rival Cries Foul

Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was on Thursday declared the victor of DR Congo's controversial presidential election in a surprise result swifty denounced by his rival as a "coup"

Kinshasa, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jan, 2019 ) :Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was on Thursday declared the victor of DR Congo's controversial presidential election in a surprise result swifty denounced by his rival as a "coup".

In a pre-dawn announcement, the election commission named Tshisekedi, son of the country's late veteran leader, as provisional winner of the bitterly-contested December 30 vote.

At stake is political stewardship of the notoriously unstable central African nation which has never known a peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Tshisekedi's apparent victory was greeted by celebrations at the headquarters of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the country's oldest and largest opposition party which was founded by his late father, Etienne.

The 55-year-old immediately pledged to work closely with current incumbent Joseph Kabila.

"Today we should no longer see him as an adversary, but rather as a partner for democratic change in our country," he told supporters.

But the result was immediately denounced by his opposition rival Martin Fayulu, the runner up, who slammed the announcement as "an electoral coup".

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the declared outcome was "not consistent" with the results, saying that Fayulu appeared to have won.