[ad_1]
The continental body of the African Union last Thursday issued a surprise last-minute request asking the Congolese government to suspend the announcement of the final results of the disputed presidential election, citing "doubts" serious".
The constitutional court of the DRC is about to decide on Friday on a challenge filed by the Vice President of Elections. Martin Fayulu asked for a recount, alleging fraud. Supporting the results could unleash violence in a country that hopes to achieve its first peaceful and democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960.
According to the AU communiqué, the heads of state and government agreed to send "urgently" a high-level delegation to Congo to "find a way out of the post crisis. "Electoral" in the vast country of Central Africa rich in minerals essential to smartphones and electrical systems. cars all over the world.
"It's really amazing," tweeted Jason Stearns, director of the DRC Research Group at the University of New York. "Usually, the African Union relies on the sub-region (…) in this case, it has departed dramatically"
The DRC is facing the extraordinary situation of supposedly rigged elections in favor of the opposition. There was no immediate comment from the government.
Fayulu accuses the government of incumbent President Joseph Kabila of falsifying the results to declare opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi a winner after the poor performance of the ruling party's candidate. Fayulu cited figures compiled by the 40,000 influential election observers of the Catholic Church, who concluded that he had garnered 61% of the vote.
The sprawling corruption of the DRC
According to a survey published this week by Radio France International and other media working with the Congo research group, two sets of leaked data show that Fayulu won the election in a hurry.
In the first set of data, attributed to the electoral commission of the DRC and representing 86% of the vote, Fayulu obtained 59.4% of the vote, against 19% for Tshisekedi. The second set of data, derived from the mission of the Catholic Church, represents 43% of the votes. Tshisekedi and ruling party candidate Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary each received less than 20 percent.
Fayulu, a legislator and businessman who speaks openly about the issue of widespread corruption in the DRC, is generally considered a threat to Kabila, his allies and the vast wealth they have ambaded. Tshisekedi, the son of the opposition's charismatic leader, Etienne, who died in 2017, is relatively untested and has barely spoken since the December 30 election.
The AU statement was issued after the Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the DRC informed "several heads of state and government" from across the continent of the crisis. Some heads of state would join the chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, for the urgent mission in the DRC.
Pressure from African countries is perceived to have a greater impact on the DRC government, which has been thwarted by Western pressure for more than two years of turbulent electoral delays.
The AU statement reflects the grave concern of states facing the threat of growing unrest in the DRC that could cross borders and destabilize its many neighbors.
* Sign up for News24's main African News in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO HELLO
NEWSLETTER AFRICA
FOLLOW News24 Africa on Twitter and Facebook.
But countries have been hesitant about how to deal with the crisis. The AU statement came hours after the 16-nation Southern African Development Community canceled its earlier request for a recount, calling on the international community to respect sovereignty. of Congo. He stressed the need for stability in a country where conflicts over the past two decades have killed millions of people.
The AU statement noted that SADC leaders have participated in broader continental discussions.
The elections in the DRC were due to take place in late 2016 and 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.
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.
All election results, not just those of presidential elections, were widely questioned after Kabila's ruling coalition won a majority in legislative and provincial elections, while his presidential candidate came in third. position.
[ad_2]
Source link
