Owusu on Africa: Tshisekedi’s victory and hurdles ahead – a chance to build a stable DR Congo

By Fidel Amakye Owusu

On the last day of December 2023 Felix Tshisekedi, the incumbent president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), was the declared winner of the general elections.

With 73.34 percent of the total votes cast, Tshisekedi, romped to victory with a landslide mandate.

Most critically, the irregularities and logistical challenges that characterized the elections, marred the process in Africa’s second-largest country by land size and fourth in terms of population size. With about 40 million registered voters spread across a space about the size of Western Europe no perfect process was expected.

However, the anomalies were so significant that they could not be ignored – even by the most conservative of observers. The opposition has protested against the verdict.

Despite the challenges that dominated the process, the fact that a divided opposition could not defeat the incumbent after 5 years in office was quite clear before the polls. Regardless, the challenges that lie ahead and are already faced by the country are too critical for the people to be divided over election results.

The leader and ruling party must do away with a triumphalist disposition that could entrench the division within the country. He must bring all hands on board and avoid the winner-take-all politics. These could help position the country to address the major challenges.

Firstly, with an ever-growing youthful population that needs a robust economy to survive, the Tshisekedi-led administration must focus on the socio-economic advancement of the resource-rich country. Anything short of this in the next five years could exacerbate the problem.

Related to this, is the need to make a conscious effort to bridge the infrastructure gap that keeps widening. Due to long-time instability corruption and colonial neglect, the DR Congo lags in critical infrastructure for economic development. Admittedly, the administration made some efforts in this direction during his first term. More needs to be done.

Development seldom happens without stability. Yes, the DR Congo is a vast country; however, as long as it remains a single political unit, insecurity in any part of it is dangerous for the entire country. It is for this reason that the victor must focus on resolving the insecurity posed by M23 rebels in the east of the country.

Sometimes hard decisions and compromises need to be made for lasting peace to prevail. Kinshasa needs to be open to talking to all regional actors including Rwanda. A continuous hostile relationship could worsen the problem.

Furthermore, the country must build stronger institutions as it seeks a robust democracy. The military, police, judiciary and bureaucracy are among institutions that need to be strengthened. They must be made people-centered.

Fidel Amakye Owusu is an International Relations and Security Analyst. He is an Associate at the Conflict Research Consortium for Africa and has previously hosted an International Affairs program with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). He is passionate about Diplomacy and realizing Africa’s global potential and how the continent should be viewed as part of the global collective.