In a pre-dawn announcement, election officials
named Tshisekedi, son of the country’s long-term opposition leader,
provisional winner of the troubled vote to replace President Joseph
Kabila.

The news brought thousands of supporters onto
the streets while others who had backed his opposition rival Martin
Fayulu came out in protest. Four people died in unrest.

Fayulu, who came a close second,
denounced the result as an “electoral coup.” The Democratic Republic of
Congo’s influential Catholic church also said Tshisekedi’s victory did
not tally with data collected by its own monitors.

“These results have nothing to do with the truth at the ballot box,” Fayulu told Radio France International.

“They have stolen the Congolese people’s victory and the people will never accept that.”

At stake is political stewardship of the
notoriously unstable central African nation, which has never known a
peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Election chief Corneille Nangaa declared
Tshisekedi the winner with 38.57 percent of the vote, just ahead of
Fayulu with 34.8 percent.

Kabila’s preferred successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, came a distant third with 23.8 percent.

The last two elections in 2006 and 2011, both
of which were won by Kabila, were marred by bloodshed, and many fear a
repeat of the violence if the result lacks credibility.

Two civilians and two policemen were killed
Thursday and another 10 people injured when a protest erupted in the
western city of Kikwit, a Fayulu stronghold, police said.

Wild celebrations

In Kinshasa, thousands of people converged
upon the headquarters of Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social
Progress (UDPS), the country’s oldest and largest opposition party,
singing and dancing at his surprise victory.

Pouring onto the streets, they celebrated
wildly, cheering and honking car horns in scenes of joy that lasted into
the morning under the bemused eye of the security forces who had fanned
out across the capital.

In his first remarks after the result, the
portly 55-year-old, who has never held high office or even a managerial
role, immediately pledged to work closely with Kabila.

“Today we should no longer see him as an
adversary, but rather as a partner for democratic change in our
country,” he told supporters.

But elsewhere in Kinshasa, the mood was
sombre, with representatives of the Catholic church openly disputing the
figures released by the Independent National Election Commission
(CENI).

“The result of the presidential election as
published by CENI does not correspond with the data collected by our
observer mission from polling stations and counting centres,” said
Father Donatien Nshole, spokesman for CENCO, which represents the
country’s Catholic bishops.

The Church has long been pressing for the
departure of Kabila, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since
2001, well beyond the limit of his second and final term in December
2016.

Calls for calm

Abroad, the mood was watchful, marked by a noticeable lack of congratulations for Tshisekedi.

Many have eyed the developments in sub-Saharan
Africa’s largest country with concern, with the United Nations leading
calls to avoid violence.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
dismissed Tshisekedi’s victory as “not consistent” with the actual
results, indicating that Fayulu had won.

The African Union said it “took note” of the result and warned any dispute over the outcome should be “resolved peacefully.”

The European Union also simply acknowledged
the result — as well as Fayulu’s objections to it. It said it was
awaiting clarification from international observers and urged all sides
to refrain from violence.

In contrast, South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa urged “all regional and international interested parties to
refrain from speculation” and let the election board complete its work.

The announcement of an opposition win was a
shock as many had expected the results to be stacked in Shadary’s
favour, prompting heavy international pressure on Kinshasa to respect
the wishes of the electorate.

‘Tshisekedi debt to Kabila’

The vast central African country has been increasingly on edge over the long-delayed vote.

Kabila had been due to step down two years ago
but held on to power, sparking a political crisis and protests that
were bloodily repressed.

“Kabila did not want to risk announcing
Shadary as the winner, which would have triggered violent protests and
international condemnation,” said Robert Besseling, executive director
of risk consultancy EXX Africa.

“Instead, he chose to split the opposition by creating a power-sharing deal with Tshisekedi.”

Tshisekedi “owes his ascendancy to power to
Kabila’s control of the electoral commission,” and in exchange Kabila
would look for immunity from any prosecution or asset seizure after
handing over power, Besseling said.

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