Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi wins DR Congo's presidential election

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The Democratic Republic of Congo's electoral commission on Thursday declared opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi the winner of the December 30 presidential election.

The result could lead to Congo's first democratic transfer of power since its independence from Belgium in 1960, with longtime President Joseph Kabila due to step down in the coming days.

Tshisekedi, 55, took the helm of the DRC's mainstream opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), after his father, the founder of the UDPS, died in early 2017.

He gained a Belgian diploma in marketing and communication but has never held high office or had management experience.

Election commission (CENI) president Corneille Nangaa said Tshisekedi had won with 38.57 percent of the more than 18 million ballots cast.

According to Nangaa, Tshisekedi had received more than 7 million votes, compared to about 6.4 million for Fayulu and about 4.4 million for Kabila's hand-picked candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary.

The result is certain to fuel further suspicion that Tshisekedi, who the last opinion polls before the election showed was running well behind Fayulu, struck a power-sharing pact with Kabila.

Tshisekedi's camp has acknowledged contact since the vote with Kabila's representatives but denies there has been any kind of deal.

Losing candidates, including Fayulu and Shadary, can contest the results before Congo's constitutional court, which has 10 days to hear and rule on any challenges.

In the meantime, vote tallies compiled by Congo's Catholic Church found that another opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu, clearly won the election, two diplomats said.

The revelation has raised the specter of a standoff that many fear could lead to violence.

Source(s): Reuters