Congolese court confirms winner of contested presidential election, Tshisekedi

The Supreme Court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said on Sunday that opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was the winner of the contested presidential elections after launching a judicial challenge on the part of the finalist.

Announcing the final results of the poll, which had fallen far behind schedule, the Constitutional Court declared that Mr. Tshisekedi was elected by a simple majority, paving the way for him to succeed his long-term leader, Joseph Kabila.

Finalist Martin Fayulu, who previously described the result as a "coup d'état" by Tshisekedi and Kabila, immediately called on the international community to reject the results.

"I ask the entire international community not to recognize a power that has neither legitimacy nor legal power to represent the Congolese people," he said of Tshisekedi, declaring himself "the only one in the world". only legitimate president ".

Tshisekedi's victory was tentatively announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) earlier this month, but it was disputed both at home and abroad. The African Union has called for the final results to be postponed.

On Sunday, the Constitutional Court ruled that Fayulu's claims were "unfounded" and that he had failed to prove inaccuracies in the figures, calling his appeal to an absurd recount.

"Only the CENI has produced authentic and sincere results," Judge Noel Kilomba said.

The president of the court, Benedict Lwamba Bindu, then declared that Tshisekedi was "the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by simple majority".

The decision was unsurprising, with the court composed of Kabila's allies.

Hundreds of supporters of Tshisekedi were gathered in court holding placards saying "No to the interference" and "Independent Country" while the riot police were standing nearby.

The CENI had already scheduled Tuesday the swearing in of the next president.

"It's not their business"

The electoral commission announced on January 10 that Mr. Tshisekedi won the provisional vote with 38.57% of the vote against 34.8% for Fayulu.

Tshisekedi, 55, is the head of the oldest and largest opposition party in the country, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, has never held high office nor even held a management position.

At a summit on Thursday, AU leaders said there were "serious doubts" about the numbers and called for a postponement of the final results.

But Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende rejected the request, saying: "I do not think it's the government's business, or even the African Union, to tell the court what she has to do. "

The AU had planned to send its head of the commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, to DRC on Monday and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, currently President of the African Union.

The European Union said that it has joined the AU in inviting "all Congolese actors to work constructively with this AU delegation to find a post-election solution that respects the vote of the Congolese people ".

Charm

The Financial Times and other foreign media reported seeing documents confirming that Fayulu was the winner.

"If the court declares Tshisekedi winner, the risk of isolation would be huge and unsustainable for a country located in the middle of the continent," wrote Adeline Van Houtte of the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The Fayulu camp had hailed the AU's call for the final result to be put on hold, but Tshisekedi's entourage termed it as "outrageous".

The conflict raised fears that the political crisis that erupted when Kabila refused to step down at the end of his constitutional mandate two years ago is turning into a bloodbath.

An Internet stop, ordered by the authorities on December 31 after the elections, ended just before the announcement of the final results on Sunday morning.

The vast and chronically unstable country went through two regional wars in 1996-97 and 1998-2003, and the two previous elections, in 2006 and 2011, were marked by bloody clashes.

The AU has adopted the strongest line of all major international bodies with regard to the post-election crisis.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a bloc that includes Angola and South Africa, initially called for a recount and a government union.

But in a subsequent statement, he made no mention of these demands, urging Congolese politicians to "deal with any electoral claim in accordance with the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the applicable electoral laws".