Dr Congo’s government announced on Tuesday its decision to ban a planned opposition-led demonstration on Wednesday, organized to protest what they claim are ‘irregularities’ in the recent elections.
In a letter published on Saturday, five opposition presidential candidates notified the governor of Kinshasa about their intention to coordinate a march.
The government, citing the lack of definitive results, expressed concern that the protests would cause disruption.
‘Tomorrow’s demonstrations are intended to undermine the electoral process — the government of the republic cannot accept this,’ Interior Minister Peter Kazadi told journalists. ‘I can assure you that there will be no such march.’
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The opposition leaders who signed the letter include Martin Fayulu — who claimed he won last elections in 2018 — and Denis Mukwege, the Nobel Peace Prize winner for his work with victims of wartime sexual violence.
They denounced the election as a “sham”.
‘We will protest against the irregularities observed during voting,’ they wrote.
Candidate Moise Katumbi, a former governor of the south-east Katanga region, has urged for the annulment of the elections.
In last Wednesday’s ballots, nearly 44 million out of the massive country’s approximately 100 million inhabitants were eligible to participate in the election of their president, national and regional lawmakers, and municipal councils.
Owing to multiple logistical challenges, the voting period was officially extended by a day and, in certain remote areas, continued until Christmas Day.
“Total chaos” was the term used by the opposition to describe the conditions.
Preliminary results released by the electoral commission indicate a significant lead for incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi, with 80 percent of approximately 1.8 million counted ballots.
The ban is enacted to stifle moves aimed to compromise the electoral process and results which the opposition alleged to be inaccurate.