Congo political crisis: Top court rejects vote challenge

Congo’s political standoff deepened on Sunday after the top court backed the contested presidential election victory of Felix Tshisekedi while his main rival rejected court’s ruling and called for peaceful protests.

In the early hours of Sunday, the Constitutional Court ruled that a legal challenge to the result filed by Fayulu was inadmissible. “Felix Tshisekedi will become the fifth president of the republic,” government spokesman Lambert Mende said as he welcomed the judgment.

As Tshisekedi’s supporters celebrated the ruling in the streets of Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, runner-up Martin Fayulu said the decision had opened the way to a “constitutional coup d’etat”, raising fears of more violence.

Fayulu issued statements dismissing the ruling. “The constitutional court has just confirmed that it serves a dictatorial regime ... by validating false results, (and enabling) a constitutional coup d’etat,” he said in one.

“I am now considering myself as the sole legitimate President of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he added in another statement. He called for people to mount peaceful demonstrations - through the streets of the capital were calm on Sunday afternoon.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame - the chair of the African Union which has said it has “serious concerns” about the vote and called for the results to be delayed - was due to arrive in Kinshasa with an AU delegation to discuss the crisis on Monday.

Monitors pointed to major flaws in the poll. Unrest over the vote has already killed 34 people, wounded 59 and led to 241 “arbitrary arrests” in the past week, according to the UN human rights office.

Fayulu says Tshisekedi and outgoing President Joseph Kabila made a deal to cheat him out of a more than 60% win - an accusation they both dismiss.

The provisional results announced on January 10, showed Tshisekedi winning with a slim margin over Fayulu.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a bloc which includes South Africa and Angola, congratulated Tshisekedi and called for a peaceful transfer of power.

“SADC calls upon all Congolese to accept the outcome, and consolidate democracy and maintain a peaceful and stable environment following the landmark elections,” it said.

Independent monitors flagged major problems with the election, including faulty voting machines and polling stations where many were unable to vote. The Catholic Church, which had a 40,000-strong team of observers, denounced the provisional result.