Tshisekedi to win the DR Congo election

In the Congolese presidential election from the 30th of December, oppositional candidate Felix Tshisekedi has surprisingly announced the winner.

Tshisekedi’s victory was announced overnight and immediately fuelled a debate over its legitimacy. Favored candidate Martin Fayulu criticized the outcome suspecting a backroom deal between Tshisekedi and current president Joseph Kabila. Fayulu reportedly said that the results had “nothing to do with the truth”. In 2018 Kabila announced his resignation after 17 years in office.

Receiving 38.5% of the votes, Tshisekedi is the first candidate from an oppositional party to win an election ever since the Democratic Republic of the Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

The Catholic Church also commented on the surprising victory saying that polls collected prior to the election indicated a different outcome.