The Catholic church said in a statement issued after its electoral observation mission consisting of over 40,000 observers deployed throughout the country, that its data were collected “from the polling and counting centres” where it was represented, analysed by a team of multidisciplinary experts and published in a preliminary statement dated January 3.
However, CENCO said it takes note of CENI’s results.
CENCO urged “everyone to show civic maturity and above all to avoid any recourse to violence,” and invited the Congolese people in the event that the results of the poll were disputed to resort to the courts in accordance with the electoral law.
Highly respected in the DRC, the CENCO played a decisive role in the organisation of the elections, while committing itself to respecting the constitution by outgoing President Joseph Kabila.
After his two terms (2001 – 2015), extended for two years, Kabila is poised to vacate power.
The CENI declared Félix Tshisekedi the winner of the December 30 presidential election with 38.57 percent of the votes ahead of Matin Fayulu and Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary who polled 34.8 percent and 23.8 percent respectively.
Fayulu immediately disputed the outcome, describing the results as an “electoral hold-up”.
France’s Foreign Affairs minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian said the election results did not seem consistent.
The position of the bishops and archbishops was eagerly awaited, after recently claiming that they knew the winner of the presidential election without revealing him.