Saturday, 17 December 2011

Congo's top court declares Kabila election winner

Democratic Republic of Congo's top court Friday upheld President Joseph Kabila's re-election in last month's vote whose results are contested by his main rival, foreign monitors and rights groups.


Supreme court vice-president Jerome Kitoko formally declared that Kabila had won 48.95 percent of the vote against 32.33 percent for veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi at the polling stations on November 28..


The court proclaims the election by a simple majority of Mr Joseph Kabila as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kitoko said.


The decision confirmed the results declared on December 9 by the independent national election commission.


The rival candidates had a chance to challenge the results in the Supreme Court but few did so, amid wide concerns over the court's independence after Kabila expanded it from seven to 27 members before the election.


Kabila himself has admitted the election was flawed, but insists the result remains valid.


The European Union, the non-profit Carter Center set up by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and other election monitors have voiced serious concern about the credibility of the polls, citing problems in the vote count and the loss of huge numbers of ballots.


The United States said that the elections were seriously flawed, even if it is unclear whether the irregularities changed the outcome.


Congo's election commission last Friday declared Kabila winner of the vote, which observers said lacked credibility and was marred by irregularities and violence.


The European Union and the United States have separately said the vote was flawed while French Prime Minister Alain Juppe said the situation in Congo was explosive, urging political leaders to seek a solution to the crisis.


Many hoped that Congo's second post-war election would set the vast mineral-rich Central African nation on the path to recovery and further investments in its resources, but the disputed election risks plunging it into a prolonged crisis.


Congo's opposition immediately said they "totally rejected" the ruling.


"The Supreme Court is just an instrument of Kabila, just like the electoral commission," said Alexis Mutanda, head of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi's election campaign.


Tshisekedi, who came second, has called the election results "a provocation" and said he considers himself Congo's president.


"The party is going to decide what to do, we just think its a masquerade," Mutanda said by phone.


He said the Congolese people were waiting for Tshisekedi to call for protests but could take matters into their own hands.


"He does not have to give the order, the people can take charge on their own," he said.


Kabila has brushed off criticism of the vote while the head of the election commission has said any irregularities during the poll were not enough to have changed the outcome.


Hastily installed as president in 2001 when his father Laurent was assassinated at the height of Congo's 1998-2003 civil war, Kabila went on to win election in a disputed vote in 2006.


He remains a divisive figure among the 70 million Congolese, hailed by some for unifying the vast country after a ruinous war but criticized by others for failing to tackle poverty and graft.


Norbert Mitumba Kilombo, Kabila's representative at the court, said after the judge's decision it was a happy day for Kabila and the country.

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