Congolese abroad vote for President Tshisekedi, preliminary results show

The Congolose diaspora in Belgium, the US, Canada, France and South Africa overwhelmingly chose outgoing president Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi in the elections, the Congolese press agency revealed on Friday evening. In total, he incumbent president received around 80 per cent of the votes.

Of the 20,000 potential voters in Belgium, 3,106 Congolese registered to vote. 76.37% of the 1,422 voters who actually casted their vote at the embassy in Brussels chose Tshisekedi, ahead of Moïse Katumbi (14.56%), Denis Mukwege (4.57%) and Martin Fayulu (3.66%).

Congolese living in Canada, France, US and South Africa were also able to vote. In total, some 13,000 votes were cast, of which Tshishekedi received around 80 per cent. Diaspora votes are only a fraction of the total 44 million voters in the 26 Congolese provinces. The results are expected in the next few days.

The Congolese elections are not without controversy. Observers have criticized the many delays due to malfunctioning equipment and a general lack of transparency. Earlier this week, opposition candidates called for a rerun of the elections, saying the delays were unconstitutional.

^{Incumbent president of the Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi casts his ballot. © Eden EZRA / AFPTV / AFP}