Congo President Félix Tshisekedi wins second term in landslide victory
- The incumbent won in a landslide with more than 73 per cent of the vote, but opposition parties have demanded fresh elections
- Tshisekedi’s challengers have called on supporters to take to the streets to protest after the release of the provisional results
President Félix Tshisekedi has won a second term in office with a landslide victory, according to provisional results announced on Sunday, in a vote opposition leaders have dismissed as a “sham”.
Provisional results from the single-round presidential ballot, declared by the country’s electoral commission Ceni, showed that Tshisekedi had won 73 per cent of the vote. Turnout was 43 per cent.
Flanked by his wife Denise and his mother, the president appeared on a balcony at his campaign headquarters in the capital Kinshasa to address supporters, who braved the rain to hear him speak.
“I have been re-elected president of all Congolese,” Tshisekedi, who was dressed in a white shirt and cap, told cheering supporters. “It’s in this spirit of openness that I will exercise this second mandate”.
Moise Katumbi – a wealthy businessman, football club owner and former provincial governor – was the election runner-up with about 18 per cent.