CONGO: Fear of violence on the rise as election loser vows court challenge

There are fears of an eruption of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo after the runner-up in the just concluded presidential election vowed to challenge the outcome of the poll in court.

Reports say many in the DRC fear the move could reawaken violence in a nation where millions have died in civil wars since the 1990s.

Pre-election polls predicted a landslide win for opposition candidate Martin Fayulu but in a surprise result, businessman turned politician Felix Tshisekedi, 55, emerged winner of the election.

Fayulu told the BBC he would file a challenge at Congo’s highest court.

“We know that the Constitutional Court is composed by Kabila’s people, but we do not want to give any chance to Kabila and his team to say…you didn’t follow the law. We want to do all that we can do to have the clean result,” Fayulu said.

Read also: CONGO ELECTION: Catholic church rejects result as loser cries ‘coup’

His threat is coming hours after the Catholic church contested the outcome of the polls.

According to Congo’s Catholic Church, one of the country’s most respected institutions, Tshisekedi is not the winner of the chaotic presidential election, as it suggested that its tally did not give victory to the opposition leader.

The head of the Independent National Election Commission said Tshisekedi had received more than seven million votes, compared to about 6.4 million garnered by Fayulu, who led in polling and warned against manipulation.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now