Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni has joined other East African leaders to congratulate Felix Tshisekedi upon re-election as president of the volatile Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Provisional results from the single-round presidential ballot, declared on Sunday by the country’s electoral commission, CENI, showed Tshisekedi had won 73% of the vote which has been rejected by the opposition as a “sham.”
“I take this opportunity, on behalf of the Ugandans, to congratulate H.E Felix Tshisekedi on winning the electoral contest in Congo, as announced by the Electoral Commission.” Museveni said in a letter published on social media.
Earlier on Monday, Kenya’s president William Ruto and Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye also conveyed their congratulatory messages to Tshisekedi for the victory that hands him a second term to lead the vast, mineral-rich East African nation whose population are ironically among the world’s poorest.
“Sincere congratulations to my brother His Excellency Felix Tshisekedi, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for a well-deserved victory. The election is a milestone in the democratic history of your nation. I look forward to strengthening the Kenya-DRC relations for the mutual benefit of our countries.” William Ruto wrote on Monday.
According to the announced results, Tshisekedi’s closest rival Moise Katumbi – a wealthy businessman and former provincial governor was the runner-up with about 18%. The DRC’s constitutional court is expected to confirm the provisional results on 10 January.
On Sunday, nine opposition candidates, including Mukwege, Fayulu and Katumbi – signed a declaration rejecting what they termed a “sham” election and called for a rerun. Fayulu, addressing reporters in the capital, Kinshasa said the results “are a masquerade. This must not be accepted.”
DRC’s eastern region near the border with Uganda and Rwanda has for decades become a theater of armed conflicts with several foreign armies (including Uganda’s UPDF) operating there to help restore peace. Tshisekedi recently enrolled Congo into the East African Community -a regional bloc to promote trade among other interests.
“..H.E Tshisekedi has positively contributed to the efforts of the region by bringing Congo into the East African Community and by allowing us to work with the Congo Army in dismantling the ADF in Eastern Congo. We look forward to more brotherly cooperation with the People and the government of Congo.” President Museveni states.
Known by the nickname “Fatshi” – an abbreviation of his name – Tshisekedi took office in 2018 leading the DRC through the Covid pandemic amid the ongoing M23 rebellion in the mineral-rich east.
The success of his first term in office is often viewed as mixed: the economy has grown but inflation is soaring and high unemployment remains the norm.
During his re-election campaign, Tshisekedi trumpeted his elimination of primary-school fees and promised to create millions of new jobs. He also regularly accused opposition figures of working for foreign interests.
Forty-four million people out of the country’s 100 million inhabitants were registered to vote on 20 December for president, as well as for national and regional lawmakers and municipal councillors.
Voting was officially extended by a day to account for problems, and continued for days afterwards in remote areas, according to observers.
One Catholic-Protestant observation mission said it “documented numerous cases of irregularities susceptible to have affected the integrity of the vote”.
About 15 embassies have called for “restraint” in the poor but mineral-rich country where post-election tensions have been common.
