Irregularities reported in DR Congo elections won’t affect results: electoral chief-Xinhua

This photo taken on May 11, 2023, shows a view in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). (Xinhua/Han Xu)

Irregularities reported during the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are « insignificant » and will not affect the results of the elections, said Denis Kadima, president of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the electoral body.

KINSHASA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) — Irregularities reported during the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are « insignificant » and will not affect the results of the elections, said Denis Kadima, president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), the electoral body, Friday.

More than 5,000 irregular incidents during the voting for the general elections on Dec. 20 have reportedly been documented by observers across the country.

« We know of some of these irregularities … but the majority of the accusations have no evidence and are mostly insignificant and can not affect the results, » said Kadima at the results center in the capital of Kinshasa.

The president of the CENI affirmed that the opposition, despite their call for the annulment of the electoral process, has not presented any evidence to support their allegations. « At this level today, we are on track to announce the winner of the presidential election on Dec. 31 as planned in our calendar. »

This photo taken on May 11, 2023, shows a view in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). (Xinhua/Han Xu)

According to the partial results announced Thursday evening by the CENI, outgoing President Felix Tshisekedi leads the race with 76.32 percent of the votes among the ballots already counted, and Moise Katumbi comes in the second position with 16.16 percent of the votes. These results represent more than 10 million votes out of a total of approximately 44 million registered voters.

According to the official electoral calendar, provisional results are expected on Dec. 31, while the next head of state will be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2024, after confirmation by the Constitutional Court.  ■