Democratic Republic of Congo’s president-elect Felix Tshisekedi received a chorus of congratulations from African leaders on Sunday and yesterday in a growing sign that his disputed election win will not be questioned internationally.
Regional support is crucial for Tshisekedi after a disorganised election on December 30 that runner-up candidate Martin Fayulu says was rigged and that Congo’s Catholic Church contested. Many worry that outgoing president Joseph Kabila will continue to hold sway, limiting Tshisekedi’s power.
The new president will be the first to take power through an election since Congo’s independence in 1960, when prime minister Patrice Lumumba was toppled in a coup after less than three months in office. Congolese and their neighbours are anxious that the process remain peaceful in a country that has drawn regional armies into its civil wars over the decades.
International allies and neighbours had struggled to come to a consensus after the poll that observers said was marred by a series of irregularities including malfunctioning voting machines and polling stations that opened late or closed early.
In a surprise statement last week, the African Union asked for the final results to be postponed because of “serious doubts” over the conduct of the election, raising fears that a protracted dispute could fan unrest in the volatile country of 80 million people.
But since the Constitutional Court early on Sunday rejected Fayulu’s complaint and backed Tshisekedi’s victory, opposition to the vote appears to have softened. Tshisekedi is expected to be sworn in on January 24.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Tshisekedi yesterday and in a statement “called on all parties and all stakeholders in the DRC to respect the decision of the
Constitutional Court”.
The presidents of Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi congratulated Tshisekedi in a series of Tweets on Sunday, echoing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – a bloc that includes South Africa and Angola – which also called for the transition of power to remain peaceful, backing off from earlier calls for a recount.
The AU has yet to comment since it noted the court’s decision. It postponed a visit by a high-level delegation to Kinshasa that had been scheduled yesterday.
Fayulu says Tshisekedi and outgoing President Joseph Kabila made a deal to cheat him out of a more than 60% win – an accusation they both deny.
Yesterday, he asked African leaders to “respect the sovereign decision of the Congolese people who elected me president”.
“Last week we had seen a risk of foreign intervention, if the heads of neighbouring states backed Fayulu in a protracted dispute. Now that most of them have accepted Tshisekedi’s win, the risk looks somewhat lower,” said research firm NKC African Economics in a statement.