The city of Beni in North-Kivu Province of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this Saturday woke up to a tense atmosphere as locals took to the streets to protest ahead of newly-proclaimed president Fèlix Tshisekedi’s inauguration ceremony.
Tshisekedi is due to be sworn in for his second term as president this afternoon at a ceremony to be held at the Pentecost Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa.
However, residents of the city of Beni have not welcomed the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) declaration of Tshisekedi as winner of the 20 December Presidential Polls due to various irregularities and fraudulent practices that characterized the vote.
The streets of Beni have been barricaded with huge rocks and burning tires as locals demand for the cancellation of Tshisekedi’s illegitimate victory in the elections.
Police have since been deployed around the city to try and calm the situation while residents continue to wreck havoc and call for annulation of the election results.
The mass protests in Beni have thrown the legitimacy of Tshisekedi’s re-election into further doubt with the leader having been proclaimed as winner in the eastern region with an overwhelming margin.
The 2023 DRC elections were marred with several irregularities and malpractices including corruption, illegal possession of voting materials and devices, violence and intimidation among many others.
