President Felix Tshisekedi was declared the winner of the December 20 presidential elections on Sunday, New Year’s Eve, making him president-elect of the resource-rich country for the next five years.
The president won about 73 percent of the vote, with his nearest challenger, Moise Katumbi, on 18 percent, officials said. Tshisekedi, 60, has been in power since January 2019 and is running for a second five-year term. By Saturday evening, with 17.8 million votes counted, he was leading with 72 percent.
Moise Katumbi, a businessman and former governor of Katanga province in the southeast, was second with 18.9 percent.
Martin Fayulu — who says he was robbed of the last presidential election in 2018 — was next at 5.5 percent, and former prime minister Adolphe Muzito had 1.36 percent.
The 20 remaining candidates, including Denis Mukwege, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work with female victims of wartime sexual violence, were all under one percent.
The results were announced on Sunday, 11 days after elections that have been condemned as a “sham” by several opposition candidates demanding a rerun.
Opposition candidates have already announced plans to march in the capital despite authorities banning the protest. Five opposition presidential candidates informed the governor of Kinshasa in a letter published on Saturday of their intention to organize the march.
The vote has been marred by accusations of corruption and chaotic organization, with authorities extending the poll for two days after some polling stations failed to open and some voters could not find their names on registers.
Western governments have called for restraint amid fears of a repeat of the violence that has followed disputed election results in the past. In a joint statement on Saturday, December 23, 12 European embassies and the Canadian embassy called for restraint.
Promises to end violence in Eastern DRC
On the campaign trail, Tshisekedi constantly attacked Rwanda and President Kagame, saying he had “expansionist aims” and comparing him with Hitler.
Speaking at a campaign rally, he promised Congolese voters to declare war on neighboring Rwanda if re-elected.
“I will request parliament and Congress to authorize a declaration of war. We will march on Kigali. Tell Kagame those days of playing games with Congolese leaders are over.” he said.
Since the resurgence of M23 in November 2021, the scale of violence in the DRC’s volatile east has increased. The mineral-rich region is home to more than 100 armed groups including M23 and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), fighting for dominance and brutally attacking civilians.
Some seven million people have been displaced by the violence. Dozens have died.
The DRC, which is one of the world’s poorest countries despite holding vast reserves of copper, cobalt, and gold, has a history of election-related violence.
At least 19 people were killed in election-related violence in the run-up to the vote. Tshisekedi’s election as president in 2018 was also marred by accusations of fraud. At least 34 people have been killed and 59 others wounded in protests related to the vote, according to the United Nations.