The Catholic Church in the DRC rejects the result of the vote

The powerful Catholic Church in DR Congo said that the provisional result of the December presidential election, which nominated the opposition candidate, Felix Tshisekedi, as the winner, does not reflect the data collected by his observers in polling stations.

"We find that the result of the presidential election published by the CENI (the electoral commission) does not match the data collected by our observation mission in polling stations and counting centers," said Father Donatien Nshole, spokesperson for CENCO. Catholic bishops of the country.

Last week, CENCO, which deployed more than 40,000 observers to monitor the elections, said it knew who won the vote but did not reveal it. He urged the CENI to publish the results "in the respect of truth and justice".

Leading French diplomats and badysts said Thursday that the Earl of the Church had indicated that Tshisekedi opposition rival, Martin Fayulu, who was nearby, had won.

Nshole's remarks were made during a press conference during which he also discussed the historic change brought about by the elections.

"We take note of the publication of provisional results of the presidential election which, for the first time in the history of our country, paves the way for a political change at the level of the head of state ", did he declare.

The Catholic Church has long called for the departure of President Joseph Kabila, who has led the country with an iron fist since 2001 and who has remained in power as interim leader even though his second and last term ended in December. 2016.