The declared outcome of presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo is “not consistent” with the actual results, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday, suggesting opposition leader Martin Fayulu should have won instead.
Main opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was Thursday named the provisional winner in Kinshasa after a delayed count.
“It really seems that the declared results … are not consistent with the true results,” the minister told France’s CNews channel. “Mr Fayulu was in principle the leader to come out of these elections.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to see its first handover of power in 18 years after opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi was Thursday named by election officials as the provisional winner of an historic presidential poll.
The election’s supervisors had faced mounting pressure at home and abroad to publish the results after repeated delays stoked fears for the giant country’s stability.
“Having gained… 38.57 percent of the vote, Felix Tshisekedi is provisionally declared the elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Corneille Nangaa, the head of the Independent National Election Commission (CENI).
Shouts of joy erupted at the commission’s offices as the results were announced early Thursday morning, AFP journalists reported.
The mineral-rich country has never had a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.
The candidate Kabila hand-picked to succeed him, loyalist former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, came third in the poll.
The other main opposition candidate, former oil executive Martin Fayulu came second, official results showed.