Felix Tshisekedi re-elected President for second term, gets 73% of votes

Felix Tshisekedi, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was re-elected for a second term in a December 20 poll with more than 73 per cent of the vote, the country’s election commission, CENI, said on Sunday, according to CNN.

The announcement of the results comes after the opposition complained about the election’s procedures for several days.
Denis Kadima, the chairman of CENI, announced the results in the capital, Kinshasa.
He stated that Tshisekedi had received more than 13 million votes out of a total of over 18 million legitimate ballots and that more than 43 per cent of voters had participated, according to CNN.

After Kadima declared Tshisekedi to be temporarily elected, the supporters of Tshisekedi who were there burst into cheers.
Candidates, political parties, and individuals designated by them have two days to file a constitutional court appeal against the election results. After that, the court has seven days to make a decision and announce the outcome.

The frontrunner of the opposition, Moise Katumbi, who received 18 per cent of the vote, has already said that he would not file a lawsuit against CENI’s findings, citing the purported lack of independence of state institutions, CNN reported.
The other opposition candidates have not made it clear if they want to contest the outcome.

Nine opposition presidential candidates, including Katumbi, and six political party leaders called on supporters to demonstrate in the streets following the announcement of the preliminary results earlier on Sunday.