Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi declared winner in DRC poll

Opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi has won the Democratic Republic of Congo's tightly contested presidential vote, DRC’s electoral commission (CENI) has announced. 

 

Provisional results put him ahead of another opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu, and the ruling coalition's Emmanuel Shadary.

If confirmed, Mr Tshisekedi will be the first opposition challenger to win since the DR Congo gained independence in 1960.

The incumbent President Joseph Kabila is stepping down after 18 years in office though he was quoted as saying he has not quit from active DRC’s politics.

He had promised DR Congo's first orderly transfer of power since the country's independence from Belgium in 1960.

Early on Thursday, the head of DR Congo's National Electoral Commission (Ceni), Corneille Nangaa announced that Mr Tshisekedi had received 38.5% of the vote and had been "provisionally declared the elected president".

Data published by BBC shows that with turnout reportedly 48%:

• Felix Tshisekedi - 7 million votes
• Martin Fayulu - 6.4 million votes
• Emmanuel Shadary - 4.4 million votes

According to BBC, Mr Tshisekedi, who is the son of late veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, told supporters at his Union for Democracy and Social Progress party headquarters in Kinshasa that Mr Kabila should no longer be seen as a rival.

"I pay tribute to President Joseph Kabila and today we should no longer see him as an adversary, but rather, a partner in democratic change in our country," he was quoted by BBC.