After sweeping elections that the opposition has denounced as fraudulent and called for protests, Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is scheduled to take office on Saturday for a second five-year term.
The 60-year-old president, often known as “Fatshi,” has chosen to hold the ceremony at Kinshasa’s 80,000-seat Martyrs sports stadium, despite simmering tensions in the nation’s unstable eastern provinces.
According to the authorities, eighteen more heads of state are expected to attend.
After controversially defeating Joseph Kabila, he was sworn in for the first time in January 2019 in the gardens of the Palace of Nations, a somber location that has historically hosted significant governmental occasions.
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The late notable opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi is the father of Tshisekedi.
He ran for president on a platform of ending 25 years of violence in the east and bringing better living circumstances to the 100 million people living in the mineral-rich but largely impoverished Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Although he did not fulfill his campaign promises, he ran on a platform of his first term’s accomplishments, including providing free primary medication, and asked for an additional mandate to “consolidate” the gains.
On December 20, more than 40 million people registered to vote, including national, state, and local legislators, as well as city council members.
• “Gigantic, organised mess” — Polling in distant locations continued for days after it was officially extended by one day to accommodate several logistical snags.
With 73.47 percent of the vote, Tshisekedi was declared the winner in the end.
With 18.08 percent, Moise Katumbi, a former governor of Katanga’s central district, finished well behind.
Martin Fayulu received five percent of the vote and claims he was also cheated in the previous presidential election.
Denis Mukwege, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, received a 0.22 percent score for his efforts helping rape victims.
A number of these candidates demanded that the election results be void. A December 27th protest was called off and put down by the police.
The elections were criticized as a “gigantic, organized mess” by the archbishop of Kinshasa.
Fears of violence are still present in a nation with a troubled political history, and accusations of fraud and a “electoral hold-up” have not subsided.
• Security issues: Kambuki and Fayulu have urged followers to demonstrate their dissatisfaction on Saturday.
From wherever they were, they called on people “to stand up and say ‘no.'”
The CENI, the electoral body, has acknowledged instances of intimidation, fraud, and the use of unlicensed voting equipment.
Three cabinet ministers and four province governors were among the 82 candidates whose votes in the general election were canceled.
For Tshisekedi, the security concern never goes away.
Fighting in the east had stopped during the elections, but it has recently returned between the army and the M23 rebels, who are supported by neighboring Rwanda.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been the covert destination for troops from the 10-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) since mid-December.
The DR Congo government terminated the mandate of an East African peacekeeping mission, claiming it had collaborated with the rebels rather than confronted them.
As the M23 militia has taken over large areas of the east since resuming its operations in 2021, a top army commander stated on Tuesday that Kinshasa was depending on them to assist it in regaining territories.
