The electoral commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to release the complete preliminary results of the presidential elections held on December 20 today, Sunday. The opposition has called for a rerun of the elections due to widespread irregularities that they claim allowed the results to be manipulated. A group of opposition candidates issued a joint statement today, urging their supporters to take to the streets to protest.
Logistical issues, an extension of the voting period, and ambiguity in the counting and tabulation process have exacerbated a dispute that threatens to lead to further unrest in a country nearly the size of Western Europe and the world's largest producer of cobalt and other required industrial commodities. Last week, the electoral commission published a vote count showing President Félix Tshisekedi leading significantly ahead of his 18 competitors with over 72 percent of the 17.8 million votes counted so far from an undetermined total.
The electoral commission is scheduled to announce the complete preliminary results of the presidential elections at 1300 GMT. Since election day, some of Tshisekedi's main rivals have called for a rerun of the presidential and parliamentary elections, accusing the commission of allowing the president to gain an unfair advantage.
