Congo Rejects AU’s Call to Delay Final Election Results

Congo’s Government on Friday rejected a call by the African Union (AU) to delay the final results of the recent elections following reports of vote rigging.

“This is a scandalous statement that we don’t support. You cannot give injunctions to the constitutional court from abroad,” government spokesman Lambert Mende told dpa.

“The court will deliver its verdict and will publish the final results this weekend,’’ Mende said.

The spokesman was responding to an AU statement released on Thursday after the bloc met in Ethiopia and concluded there were “serious doubts on the conformity of the provisional results” proclaimed by the electoral commission.

“Accordingly, the heads of state and government called for the suspension of the proclamation of the final results of the elections.’’

The AU supported runner-up Martin Fayulu’s appeal to Congo’s highest court to order a recount, a matter it is now deliberating.

Several international media outlets reported on Tuesday on leaked voting data that showed that Fayulu had in fact won the polls on Dec. 30, and not another opposition candidate, Felix Tshisekedi, as the electoral authorities had said.

Fayulu has suggested Tshisekedi and President Joseph Kabila did a back-room deal after early results showed Kabila’s chosen successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, finished third.

Western powers have not congratulated Tshisekedi, and France has expressed concern over the official results which saw Tshisekedi win 38.57 per cent of the vote to Fayulu’s 34.8 per cent.

The influential Catholic Church has backed Fayulu’s assertion that Tshisekedi didn’t win, and even Congo’s neighbours in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have urged a recount. (NAN)