Congo’s Catholic and Protestant churches demand inquiry into election issues
DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo's powerful Catholic bishops conference and Protestant churches demanded an independent inquiry be opened into irregularities and alleged legal violations observed during the December general elections. Congo's CENI election commission said on Sunday that President Felix Tshisekedi had secured more than 73% in the December 20 vote. But a large group of opposition candidates say the election was fraudulent and reject the provisional results. Hours-long delays, malfunctioning machines, and other issues led to an unscheduled extension of voting beyond Dec. 20 that independent observers said affected the credibility of the election In a joint statement the CENCO-ECC Catholic and Protestant churches,…