Felix Tshisekedi - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

Congolese President Tshisekedi sworn in for second term after disputed vote

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in for a second five-year term on Saturday after a landslide victory his opponents have refused to recognise due to widespread irregularities over the December general election. Authorities have acknowledged there were issues but dismissed allegations the vote was stolen. The fractious standoff echoes previous electoral disputes that fuelled unrest in Africa's second-largest country, with protests breaking out in two eastern cities. Tshisekedi took the oath of office in a stadium in the capital Kinshasa packed with flag-waving supporters, government officials, African heads of state and foreign envoys including from the United States, China, and…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Congo opposition leaders call for protest on inauguration day

NEWS

TWO of the main opposition candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo's December presidential election have called for a protest this Saturday when President Felix Tshisekedi is due to be sworn in for a second term. Tshisekedi and his party won the December 20-24 general election by a landslide, but the vote was marred by widespread allegations of fraud, logistical shortcomings and disruptions. The fallout threatens to further destabilise Congo, the world's third-largest copper producer and the top producer of cobalt, a key component in electric car batteries. The two opposition leaders, Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, as well as others, have…

Jan

2024

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

President Tshisekedi’s ruling party leads in Congo legislative election

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi's UDPS party won 66 seats in the December parliamentary election, placing it ahead of 44 other parties that won one or more seats in the 500-member house, provisional results showed on Sunday. The increased number of UDPS seats, up from 35 in the 2018 election, along with gains by allied parties, could enable Tshisekedi to maintain his ruling big tent Sacred Union coalition, giving him the majority needed to name a new government. The coalition controlled over 390 seats in the outgoing legislature. Provisional results announced by Congo's national election commission early on…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

UN says 2,000 peacekeepers to leave eastern Congo in withdrawal’s first phase

NEWS

ABOUT 2,000 U.N. troops will leave restive eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of April in the first phase of the peacekeeping mission's planned withdrawal from the country, the head of mission said on Saturday. The U.N. Security Council approved the end of the mission in December following a request by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi in September to fast-track the withdrawal of the peacekeepers. The currently 13,500-strong force, known as MONUSCO, took over from an earlier U.N. operation in 2010 to help quell insecurity in the east of the Central African country, where armed groups fight over territory and…

Jan

2024

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

Congo’s election commission cancels 82 candidates in disputed December polling

NEWS

CONGO'S election commission said it has cancelled votes cast for 82 of the 101,000 legislative candidates in the disputed December general election over alleged fraud and other issues, amid fresh opposition calls for a re-run of the vote. Those disqualified include contenders for national, provincial and municipal assemblies, the results of which are yet to be published amid the fallout from the December 20 poll that threatens to further destabilise the Democratic Republic of Congo, a top producer of cobalt and Africa's second-largest country. A CENI election committee statement on Friday did not address the presidential vote that also took…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Two more Congo presidential candidates do not plan court challenge

NEWS

TWO more candidates who contested last month's presidential election in Democratic Republic of Congo made clear they will not take the matter to court, making it more likely President Felix Tshisekedi's provisional win will be confirmed. Congo's election commission said on Sunday that Tshisekedi had secured more than 73% of the vote in the December 20 election, versus roughly 18% for his nearest challenger, businessman Moise Katumbi. A large group of opposition candidates says the election was fraudulent and has urged people to protest. However, the government has rejected calls for a rerun of the vote and the deadline to challenge the outcome of…

Jan

2024

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

Congo’s Tshisekedi fights poll fraud accusations with ‘spirit of openness’

NEWS

WHEN Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi was declared the winner of another disputed election, he pledged to be a leader for all its 100 million people. However, accusations by opposition leaders of electoral fraud and political repression will likely cloud his second term as it did the first. His main rivals rejected Sunday's outcome before it was announced and called for a rerun. Speaking to supporters at his campaign headquarters in Kinshasa, Tshisekedi appealed for unity. "It is with a spirit of openness that I'll govern during this second term," Tshisekedi told a jubilant crowd, adding that he would focus…

Jan

2024

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

Congo President Tshisekedi re-elected, election commission says

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has been re-elected for a second term after getting more than 73% of the vote in this month's presidential election, the country's election commission said. Announcing the results on Sunday in the capital Kinshasa, Denis Kadima, the head of Congo's national election commission known as the CENI, said Tshisekedi was elected with 73.34% of the vote having obtained over 13 million votes out of over 18 million valid votes. Turnout in the disputed election was at over 43%, Kadima said. Earlier on Sunday a group of Congo's main opposition presidential candidates asked supporters…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Congo bans opposition election protest scheduled for Wednesday

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo's government banned an opposition protest over last week's chaotic national election as early results showed President Felix Tshisekedi in the lead. Five opposition presidential candidates called the joint demonstration in the capital Kinshasa over alleged election irregularities. But on Tuesday the government banned the event, saying it did not have a legal basis and was aimed at undermining the electoral process while the election commission was still compiling results. "No government in the world can accept this, so we will not let it happen," Vice Prime Minister Peter Kazadi told a press conference, referring to the protest. The…

Dec

2023

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO and YASSIN KOMBI

Congo releases first provisional election results after messy vote

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo released a few early results from general elections after an unscheduled day-long ballot extension that has prompted some opposition candidates to cry foul and call for a rerun. The provisional results from the few thousand voters in the Congolese diaspora showed President Felix Tshisekedi with a comfortable lead over challengers. The CENI election commission said results cast within Congo by its around 44 million registered voters would be released from Saturday. At a press conference in the capital Kinshasa, CENI President Denis Kadima again rejected criticism by the opposition and independent observers that the extended vote had been chaotic and lacked credibility. Disputed elections…