The African Union (AU) has called for the suspension of the announcement of the final result of the December 30th elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This follows a High-Level Consultation meeting on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia chaired by President Paul Kagame. President Kagame chaired the summit in his capacity as the Chairperson of the African Union. The meeting was attended by Heads of States of SADC member countries, ICGLR member countries, East African Community, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD, African members of the UN Security Council. According to a post-summit communique, The Heads of State and Government attending the meeting concluded that there were serious doubts on the conformity of the provisional results, as proclaimed by the National Independent Electoral Commission, with the votes cast. Accordingly, the Heads of State and Government called for the suspension of the proclamation of the final results of the elections. The summit also agreed to urgently dispatch to the DRC a high-level delegation comprising the Chairperson of the Union and other Heads of State and Government, as well as the Chairperson of the AU Commission to interact with all Congolese stakeholders. This is with a view of reaching a consensus on a way out of the post-electoral crisis in the country. The meeting urged all concerned actors in the DRC to interact positively with the high-level African delegation in the interest of their country and its people. The challenges in DR Congo are related to polls held on December 30, last year where the country’s electoral commission, Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), declared Felix Tshisekedi as the winner. This was supposed to mark Congo’s first smooth democratic transfer of power in 59 years of restive independence and the beginning of a new era following 18 years of rule by President Joseph Kabila. However, the outcome of the elections has been sharply contested. Martin Fayulu—the runner up—claims that he won by a landslide and that Tshisekedi struck a deal with Kabila to declare former as the victor. Tshisekedi and Kabila have both denied these accusations. Fayulu filed a petition in the Constitutional Court, challenging the provisional results of the presidential election. Summit participants also called on the international community international community to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Congo.
