DRC’s constitutional court will today the 15th of January 2019 start hearing the case appealed earlier by Martin Ayulu contesting the election result that pronounced the opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi’s victory.
Fayulu the appellant also from the opposition was declared a runner up in the election polls conducted to choose president Joseph Kabila’s next- on- line after his 18 years of rule.
In his argument he says that the released results were an ‘election coup’by Tshisekedi and Kabila as he alleges.
“What we are expecting from the Constitutional Court is for the truth of the ballot box to be restored,” one of Fayulu’s Lawyers Albert Fabrice Puela said.
In addition, he said that the declared results by CENT was an abuse while referring to the Independent National Election commission in charge of election supervision.
On Friday last week Fayulu filed his appeal but according to Corneille Nangaa Head CENT he said that the Nine-member court has 7days to study the appeal before the ruling.
Meanwhile, the southern African Development (SADC) called upon unity in DRC and also asked authorities to recount the votes to establish the real losers and winners of the elections.
Relatedly, Didier Reynders Foreign Minister Belgium the DRC former colonial power also asked for a vote recount.
“Obviously, having transparency is always the first step, and then you have to ask yourself if, on the basis of what has been published, one should start a recount process.”
Nevertheless, Tshsekedi through his spokesperson Vidiye Tshimanga said as UDPS party members will admit the recount so longer as it’s a resolution verified by the constitutional court.
“However, we are against a recount if it’s imposed by foreign countries,” Tshimanga stated while addressing the media.
According to Sylvain-Patrick Lumu Mbaya the constitutional court Law expert said that a vote recount is one of the available options before the court.
“The court may have doubts about the recount, and if so, it can take exceptional measures, including a recount.”
But still people don’t expect much in case a vote recount is conducted because of former president’s much influence in the country.
Political unrests in DRC started two years back as the country protested against Kabila’s refusal to leave office at the end of his term of service.
In history Congo has never experienced peaceful conversion of power since its independence in 1960 from Belgium.
Between 1996 -1997 and 1998 – 2003 Congo was involved in a serious war while in 2006 &2011 the last two presidential elections featured unnecessary bloodshed.
Earlier on the Roman Catholic Church, dropped the election result saying that it contradicts the actual outcomes filed by their observers of over 40,000 deployments all over the country. Which they have since withheld.
In the provisional results issued by CENT, Tshisekedi obtained 38.57% of the vote against his rival Fayulu who came out with 34.8% while Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary the one appointed by Kabila to contest in the race came the third with 23.8% of the total vote.
Fayulu claims he won the elections since he was the leading candidate in the last election polls carried out before voting. He claims he got 61% of the total vote.
And the presidential inauguration is scheduled to be on the 22nd of January 2019.
