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The Constitutional Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo is ready to rule on Friday on a challenge to the results of the presidential election.
But the continental body of the African Union has issued a surprise last minute request asking the DRC government to suspend the announcement of the final results, citing "serious doubts" about the vote.
The declared finalist, Martin Fayulu, asked for a recount, alleging fraud.
Respect for official election results could unleash violence in a country hoping for its first peaceful and democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960.
The African Union said on Thursday that the Heads of State and Government had agreed to send "urgently" a high-level delegation to the DRC to "find a way out of the post-election crisis" in the vast Central African country rich in smartphones and electric cars around the world.
The statement reflects the concern of many DRC neighbors who fear that additional unrest will spread across borders. There was no immediate comment from the government.
Fayulu called for a recount of the December 30 elections, saying the DRC's electoral commission had released provisional results that were very different from those obtained at polling stations.
Increased instability
He carries the extraordinary charge of rigged elections in favor of the opposition, saying that incumbent President Joseph Kabila has reached an agreement with declared winner, Felix Tshisekedi, behind the scenes, while the candidate of the ruling party had done a bad thing.
The electoral commission said that Tshisekedi won 38% of the vote and Fayulu 34%. However, the results compiled by the 40,000 influential election observers of the Catholic Church show that Fayulu won easily with 61%.
In the leaked data published this week by some media, attributed to the electoral commission and representing 86% of the vote, Fayulu won 59.4% of the vote, against 19% for Tshisekedi.
The court could confirm the election results, order a recount or order new elections.
Adeline Van Houtte, an badyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, is expected to confirm Tshisekedi's victory.
"This could increase instability, which could put an end to the electoral transition," said Van Houtte in a statement. "However, it also means that Kabila will have avoided the worst scenario," Fayulu said.
Fayulu, a legislator and businessman who speaks openly about corruption in the Congo, is widely regarded as a threat to Kabila, his allies and their immense wealth. Tshisekedi, the son of the charismatic leader of the opposition, Etienne, who died in 2017, is relatively untested and has spoken little since the election.
The inauguration of Congo is scheduled for Tuesday.
The elections came after more than two years of delay as many Congolese feared that Kabila, in power since 2001, is looking for a way to stay in office. Forbidden to fill three consecutive terms, Kabila has already hinted that he could be a candidate in 2023.
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All election results, not just in the presidential race, were widely questioned after Kabila's ruling coalition won a majority in legislative and provincial votes, while its presidential candidate in finished third.
Internet services were cut in Congo the day after the vote to calm speculation on the results. He has not returned yet.
Election observers have reported multiple problems, including the last-minute barrage of about one million voters in the east of the country, with the electoral commission accusing a deadly outbreak of Ebola. That alone undermines the credibility of the election, some observers said.
Fayulu asked the court to declare that the commission had violated the constitution by not organizing elections in certain constituencies.
The court has not sufficiently questioned the commission at this week's hearing, warned the synergy of citizen election observation missions, or SYMOCEL.
But for some Congolese who have made a difficult campaign for Kabila to withdraw, it is enough for an opposition figure to take power, despite questions about the vote.
Reflecting the aspiration to stability after years of electoral unrest, 33 non-governmental groups and Congolese civil society movements on Thursday urged the population to abide by what the court decided to "preserve the peace" in the interest of "national unity".
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