“No sane person can agree” that incumbent President Félix Tshisekedi legitimately won a second term in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential elections, a leading opposition candidate has said.
In an interview with the Newsday programme on Tuesday, Martin Fayulu issued a fresh dismissal of Sunday’s results.
Officials said Mr Tshisekedi won around 73% of the vote. The election, which took place on 20 December, was marred by widespread logistical and technical problems.
Following the announcement of the results, Mr Fayulu and several other opposition candidates alleged electoral fraud and widespread irregularities. An observation mission run by the Catholic Church and Protestant churches also noted “numerous cases of irregularities”.
Speaking to, Mr Fayulu argued that given the size of the crowds that gathered at his campaign rallies, the idea that he received only 5% of the vote was unbelievable.
He added: “Tshisekedi cannot beat me anyhow – he cannot beat me!
“The people of Congo are with me. No one will follow Tshisekedi. He can go by force, but no one will follow him.”
Mr Fayulu called for a fresh election, a demand that has been rejected by DR Congo’s government spokesman and Information Minister Patrick Muyaya.
“Of course there were incidents but these incidents were not able to change the results of the presidential elections,” Mr Muyaya said in an earlier interview with the Newsday programme.
“It’s okay if they want to use legal ways to contest the election. That’s law. They have the right to do that but at the same time they should make sure that they can provide some proof of what they are arguing,” Mr Muyaya added.
He said that the government “will not tolerate disorder” from opposition politicians unhappy with the election results.