DR Congo Divided Over Opposition Chief's Election

Faizan Hashmi Published January 11, 2019 | 06:58 PM

With DR Congo still reeling from the disputed victory of opposition challenger Felix Tshisekedi, the nation's attention turned Friday to the results of the legislative elections to see who will control parliament for the next five years

Kinshasa, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Jan, 2019 ) :With DR Congo still reeling from the disputed victory of opposition challenger Felix Tshisekedi, the nation's attention turned Friday to the results of the legislative elections to see who will control parliament for the next five years.

In a country that has never known a peaceful transfer of power since gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, Thursday's announcement that an opposition candidate had won the December race to replace President Joseph Kabila was a historic first.

But the legitimacy of Tshisekedi's victory was immediately called into question, with his opposition rival Martin Fayulu, who came a close second, dismissing the result out of hand as an "electoral coup".

And the powerful Catholic Church also said the outcome of the troubled December 30 vote did not tally with data its own observers collected, raising serious questions about the credibility of figures released by the CENI election commission.

The pre-dawn announcement brought thousands of Tshisekedi supporters onto the streets in celebration, while others who had backed Fayulu came out to protest, with five killed in the resulting clashes with police.

"These results have nothing to do with the truth at the ballot box," Fayulu told Radio France International.

At stake is political stewardship of this notoriously unstable central African nation which has a population of some 80 million and covers an area the size of western Europe.

According to the provisional results, Tshisekedi was declared the winner with 38.57 percent, just ahead of Fayulu with 34.8 percent.

Any disputes over the result must be lodged within the next nine days at the Constitutional Court, which will play a decisive role in how such issues are resolved.