The re-election of Democratic Republic of Congo’s incumbent President Félix Tshisekedi is being contested in court as one of the presidential candidates, Théodore Ngoy, has filed a petition seeking the annulment of the presidential election results
Ngoy, who secured only 0.02% of the vote and finished last in the election, submitted his petition to the Constitutional Court just before the expiration of the two-day window allowed for such challenges. A lawyer and pastor, Ngoy previously participated in the 2018 presidential race but did not succeed.
In an interview with the French RFI news website, Ngoy described the election results announced by the country’s electoral commission, Ceni, as a sham and expressed his intention to have them cancelled.
The Constitutional Court now has seven days to examine the petition and make a decision. While the two main opposition candidates, Moïse Katumbi (second place with 18%) and Martin Fayulu (third place), have chosen not to challenge the results in court, they are calling for protests to denounce the outcome.
The final results are expected to be announced by the Constitutional Court on January 12. President Tshisekedi secured approximately 73% of the vote in the December 20 election, which faced widespread logistical challenges.