President Félix Tshisekedi was on Sunday, December 31, declared winner of the elections marred by delays, alleged malpractices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, even as the main opposition leaders called for protests after the results are announced.
In a joint statement, the opposition leaders said, "We call on our people to take to the streets en masse after the proclamation of the electoral fraud."
Tshisekedi – the son of veteran opposition leader Étienne Tshisekedi was first elected in 2019 – won about 73% of the vote, and his nearest challenger, Moise Katumbi, 18%, according to officials. The 20 December election marred by widespread logistical problems had to be extended to a second day in some parts of the vast country.
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Initial results from the presidential and legislative elections marked by widespread logistical troubles began to trickle in on December 23, with the electoral commission announcing results for Congolese voters living in South Africa, Belgium, France, Canada and the United States.
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Congolese headed to the polls again on December 20 in a general election marked by widespread logistical troubles that meant some polling stations never opened, following a chaotic campaign marred by allegations of fraud, electoral violence, and logistical setbacks.
Some 44 million people were registered to vote on December 20 in chaotic elections to choose a president, national and regional lawmakers and municipal councillors. Out of the 15.9 million votes counted by Friday evening, it is reported that Tshisekedi was well ahead with about 73 percent of the votes in the country.
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The troubled mineral-rich country staged four concurrent elections amidst armed conflict and a climate of instability in the country's west and east.
East African Community (EAC) Partner States were not, as is the norm, able to observe the general elections in the DR Congo as the bloc’s request to undertake the exercise was not granted by the relevant authorities in Kinshasa.
Just over a year after its deployment, the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) on December 21 completed its exit from Goma, capital of DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, citing a mixture of successes and drawbacks during its stay in the unstable country.
The conflict between the M23 rebels and a government-led coalition still raged on.
As part of a withdrawal plan that started in December 2022, M23 rebels continued to pull out of key positions held in North Kivu in January 2023. The M23 withdrawal was expected to pave the way for negotiations with the Congolese government but the talks never happened. Kinshasa continued to firmly hold onto its position that the M23 is a terrorist movement, with which it cannot have peace talks.
The Luanda and Nairobi processes sought to find a political end to the conflict, with the former particularly seeking to mend relations between DR Congo and Rwanda, which worsened due to Kinshasa’s allegations that Kigali supported the M23 rebels.
The government of Rwanda dismissed the accusations and, instead, accused the Congolese army of collaborating with FDLR, a genocidal militia that threatens the region and Rwanda’s security. Based in eastern DR Congo ever since its creation, in mid-2000, the militia group was founded by remnants of the masterminds and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
In the lead-up to the December 20 elections, Tshisekedi said he would declare war on Rwanda if re-elected.
Tshisekedi will be sworn in for a second term on January 20.