Opposition Engagement for Citizenship and Development (ECIDE) party President Martin Fayulu has requested the leaders of the highest continental authority, the African Union, to help the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) settle the questions surrounding the legitimacy of the results from the 2023 General Elections.
In a letter delivered at the 37th summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Fayulu said that would be done with a view of having the DRC provide itself with leaders truly chosen democratically by the Congolese people.
“We categorically reject the results of this sham election at all levels; the crisis of legitimacy persists in the DRC. This is today exacerbated by the tribalism that the power in place uses as a political instrument to destroy cohesion which cemented our desire to live together.
We therefore appeal to the sense of responsibility of the AU so that it diligently takes up this issue so that the DRC is endowed with legitimate institutions whose leaders are chosen democratically by the Congolese people. The illegitimacy of the institutions and their leaders contributes to the absence of credible institutions and an army capable of defending the territorial integrity of the DRC and protecting its population” Fayulu wrote.
Fayulu informed the AU that the political players in the DRC had continously sounded the alarm to challenge the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to denounce its abuses and even proposed solutions that would contribute to attaining a transparent, impartial, inclusive and peaceful electoral process.
However, Fayulu pointed out that the CENI, supported by the ruling government of Fèlix Tshisekedi, had refused to accept the solutions provided by the political players.
“Today, it is clear that all the evidence of electoral cheating and fraud planned and executed by the CENI has come to the surface as evidenced by the various reports from electoral observation missions, notably the MOE CENCO- ECC. This is why we affirm loud and clear that there were no elections in December 2023 in the DRC, but rather there was a sham of elections with a fabrication of figures by the CENI in benefit of a candidate president of the Republic, candidate deputies as well as candidate municipal councilors whom she has appointed” he added.
Fayulu as well as other leading opposition candidates including popular figure Moïse Katumbi and Denis Mukwege have contested the results proclaiming Félix Tshisekedi re-elected as President and had refused to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court which they consider to be “subservient” to power.
