Summary:
- Congo’s electoral body, CENI, is set to release results from the recent general elections amid opposition claims of irregularities, while President Felix Tshisekedi faces 18 challengers in a largely peaceful electoral environment.
The release of results from Congo’s recent general elections, conducted over the past two days, is scheduled to commence this Friday, as reported by the Chimp Corps. According to Didier Manara, the second Vice President of the CENI, the initial publication of the election results held on December 20 is slated for this Friday, December 22.
Manara emphasized that the results would be disclosed on a province-by-province basis, with a thorough comparison between the paper records and the data in the electronic voting system.
Despite claims from opposition parties citing irregularities and delayed deployment of voting kits, the FCC, the party of former DRC President Joseph Kabila, asserted significant issues such as unopened polling stations, malfunctioning voting machines, fictitious offices, and the alleged possession of voting equipment by candidates of the Sacred Union.
In response, CENI extended the voting period by 24 hours to address delays in the deployment of electoral materials, leading to the late opening of some Polling and Counting Stations (BVD).
Highlighting the historic nature of these elections, Manara noted that the DRC organized them using its own funds, respecting the constitutional deadline for the first time. He added that those who speak of chaos are not Congolese, and the country remains largely peaceful, with isolated incidents of violence.
The elections involved over 40 million voters in DRC and the diaspora, aiming to fill 1,511 seats from a pool of more than 100,000 candidates. A GeoPoll conducted before the elections indicated that the majority of voters were inclined to support a second term for President Felix Tshisekedi, seeing no alternative candidate worthy of their vote.
The poll revealed widespread dissatisfaction among Congolese citizens with the country’s state, particularly concerning unemployment, insecurity, infrastructure, and food prices. However, there were signs of marginal improvement, especially in response to the ongoing implementation of universal free education.
Despite these dynamics, the opposition remained divided and failed to align before the polls. Tshisekedi faced 18 challengers in the race, including Martin Fayulu, wealthy businessman and former Katanga province governor Moïse Katumbi, and Dr. Denis Mukwege.
