World reaction cautious to disputed DRCongo vote result

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PARIS, Jan 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Foreign leaders reacted cautiously to the
outcome of DR Congo’s presidential election Thursday, with many choosing not
to congratulate the man declared winner and appealing for disputes to be
settled peacefully.

Provisional results from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s much-troubled
election granted victory to opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi.

But his opposition rival Martin Fayulu immediately cried foul, branding the
results “an electoral coup”.

The Independent National Election Commission (CENI) gave Tshisekedi 38.57
percent of the vote, ahead of Fayulu with 34.8 percent.

President Joseph Kabila’s preferred successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary,
came a distant third with 23.8 percent.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged all sides “to refrain from
violence and to channel any eventual electoral disputes through the
established institutional mechanisms,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

African Union leader Moussa Faki Mahamat was similarly restrained.

“It is important that any disagreement over the proclaimed results, notably
that they did not reflect voters’ wishes, be resolved peacefully, by turning
to the relevant laws and through political dialogue between the parties
involved,” he said.

His statement notably did not congratulate Tshisekedi, whose victory has
been met with accusations that he had struck a deal with Kabila.

In contrast, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, one of the key
players on the continent, urged interested parties to “refrain from
speculation and allow CENI to complete the process”.

The United States demanded “clarification” over the result while
congratulating “courageous” Congolese voters.

“The National Independent Electoral Commission has announced provisional
results, but we await clarification of questions which have been raised
regarding the electoral count.

“We urge all stakeholders to remain calm as the process continues,” State
Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.

He also noted the “importance of President Joseph Kabila’s decision to
abide by his constitutionally mandated term limits and transfer power to a
successor”.

The European Union said it was waiting for the verdict of election
monitors.

“We have also noted that these results have been contested by part of the
opposition,” said EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic.

“In the meantime we call on all political actors in DRC to abstain from any
kind of act of violence and allow for the democratic process to continue,”
she said.

France however broke ranks to challenge the official result.

“It really seems that the declared results… are not consistent with the
true results,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told CNews television.

“On the face of it, Mr Fayulu was the leader coming out of these
elections,” he said.

The DRC’s Catholic Church, he argued, had reached the same conclusion after
garnering data from its 40,000 election observers across the country.

The church itself has so far only said that the official results did not
reflect the data its observers collected from polling stations.

It has not published the name of the candidate that, in its view, was the
true victor.