* Opposition leaders want the Congo vote anulled citing fraud instances.
* Electoral commission accused of falsely declaring Tshikedi winner.
* Election results are likely to plunge Africa's second largest nation into political turmoil.
Opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo have called for annulment of the results of the recent general election over accusation of fraud in a dispute that risks to plunge the vast and mineral rich central African nation in political turmoil. The elections in Africa's second largest nation which cost over a billion dollars was characterised by election malpractice which was viewed by many as fraudulent.Five opposition leaders including the president's main challenger published a statement late Saturday accusing the country's electoral commission of massive fraud that included ballot paper staffing and falsely declaring Felix Tshikedi as the winner in areas where he did not win any votes.
The five leaders who include Moise Katumbi, a business tycoon and the president's closest rival also called the head of the electoral commission to resign for having planned and orchestrated the worst electoral fraud the country had ever seen. The result of the election was being closely watched not only in Africa but also the rsst of the world. Congo is Africa's second largest nation and home to deep reserves of cobalt which is essential in making electric cars. And wrangling over elections in Congo could fuel unrest in the lingala land which is already dealing with an enormous security and humanitarian crisis. In the election, 19 presidential candidates and other 100,000 hopefuls vied for national, regional and local assembly seats and about 44m people, half of the country's population were registered to vote.
The electoral commission is expected to release the full provisional results of the election by Dec.31. Tshikedi, who is seeking a new five year term has so far been leading the ballot count but it is wisely said that the vote extension violated electoral laws and undermined reliability of the vote which cost $1.2 billion. Some opposition said they could post a protest in the capital Kinshasa to show that the results were a scum. As tensions are heating up,a dozen of western governments including Canada, Germany and Britain issued a joint statement on Saturday calling on candidates and parties to exercise and challenge the results peacefully and by following the constitution.
