DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi re-elected – opposition demands rerun

AP | Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi won reelection with more than 70 percent of the vote, the country’s election commission said Sunday.

The preliminary results of the December 20 election were announced in the capital, Kinshasa, amid demands from the opposition and some civil society groups for the vote to be rerun due to massive logistical problems that put the validity of the outcome into question.

Tshisekedi was followed by businessman Moise Katumbi, who received 18 percent of the vote, and Martin Fayulu, who received 5 percent. Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, a physician renowned for treating women brutalized by sexual violence in eastern Congo, got less than 1 percent.

The election had more than a 40 percent turnout with some 18 million people voting. The results will be sent to the constitutional court for confirmation, election chief Denis Kadima said.

Opposition candidates opposing the results have two days to submit their claims, and the constitutional court then has seven days to decide. The final results are expected on January 10, and the president is scheduled to be sworn in at the end of that month.