AU wants postponement of DRC election results over 'serious doubts'

The AU has called on the DRC authorities to postpone the confirmation of these results which were expected to be announced on Friday. Picture: Reuters/Kenny Katombe

The AU has called on the DRC authorities to postpone the confirmation of these results which were expected to be announced on Friday. Picture: Reuters/Kenny Katombe

Published Jan 18, 2019

Share

Johannesburg – Concerned over the provisional results of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) December presidential elections, the African Union (AU) has called on the DRC authorities to postpone the confirmation of these results which were expected to be announced on Friday, the Daily Nation reported.

Following a meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday the AU released a statement about the provisional poll results.

"There were serious doubts on the conformity of the provisional results, as proclaimed by the National Independent Electoral Commission, with the votes cast," it read.

"Accordingly, the AU has called for the suspension of the proclamation of the final results of the elections," it added.

According to the DRC’s Independent National Election Commission (CENI) opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi secured 38.57 percent of the vote, ahead of current administration opponent Martin Fayulu with 34.8 percent. Fayula, a former oil executive, had been tipped as the favourite to win in the few pre-election opinion polls.

Congo’s BERCI and France’s IPSOS for the Congo Research Group (CRG) in December and actual voting count data by some 40 000 observers from the Catholic Episcopal Commission (CENCO) point instead to a solid and statistically robust victory by Fayulu.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL), a 12-member body including Kinshasa allies Angola and Republic of Congo, have also expressed “great concern”.

Tshisekedi’s victory was immediately challenged by Fayulu who insisted he had won – a claim supported by a number of political analysts, France, Belgium, and the Catholic Church.

On Wednesday, the Congolese started looking into the provisional results that were announced last week after a delay that critics assert was a deliberate ploy to cook the tally after Tshisekedi was announced the victor last week.

African News Agency (ANA)

Related Topics: