CONGO’S PRESIDENT WINS RE-ELECTION
The president of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, was declared the winner Sunday of the December presidential vote in an election marred by severe logistical problems, protests and calls for its annulment from several opposition candidates.
Tshisekedi won more than 13 million votes, or 73 percent of the total ballots cast, said Denis Kadima, head of the country’s electoral commission. Just over 18 million people, out of 44 million registered to vote, cast ballots, Kadima said. The provisional results will now be sent to the nation’s constitutional court for confirmation.
The announcement was a crucial moment in an election dogged by acute problems, some because of Congo’s vast size, and many fear the outcome could plunge the Central African nation into a new round of political turmoil and even violent unrest that has followed other electoral contests in recent years.
The results of the election matter not only to Congo’s 100 million people, who are suffering after decades of conflict and poor governance, but also to Western countries that consider Congo a crucial part of their efforts to stem climate change and make a transition to green energy.
Congo produces 70 percent of the world’s cobalt, a key element in the electric vehicle industry, and has the second-largest rainforest, which absorbs vast amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide. But for many in Congo, a decadesold, corruption-ridden system of political patronage is seen as the best way to distribute the spoils of that natural wealth — which may explain why the presidential race was so hotly contested.
On Dec. 23, five opposition leaders accused the country’s electoral commission of “massive fraud,” called on the head of the commission to resign and said the entire vote should be annulled. Four days later, opposition leaders held a demonstration in the capital, Kinshasa, to protest what they called a “sham” election. Security forces surrounded the offices of Martin Fayulu, one of the opposition candidates, and lobbed tear gas at protesters there, according to his spokesperson and videos shared on social media.
Opposition leaders, including Moïse Katumbi, a business tycoon who is Tshisekedi’s closest rival, condemned the actions of security forces and promised more marches nationwide.
Katumbi got 3 million votes, or about 18 percent of the ballots counted, the election commission said. Fayulu garnered just over 960,000 votes. Most of the other two dozen presidential candidates, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, got less than 1 percent of the vote.
“The unfortunate competitors must accept the democratic game,” Kadima said Sunday. “As a people, we must keep in mind the existence and stability of the Democratic Republic of Congo matters much more than an elected position,” he said, adding, “Let’s not weaken our country.”
But his comments are unlikely to assuage opposition leaders, who Sunday called on their supporters to protest the results. They also said a new election commission should be formed and a fresh vote held.