President Bola Tinubu has congratulated President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo on his re-election.
According to a statement on Saturday by his spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the Nigerian president commended the government and the people of DR Congo for ensuring a successful conduct of the last elections.
Tshisekedi won reelection with more than 70 per cent of the vote, the country’s election commission said last Sunday. The preliminary results of the 20th December election were announced in the capital, Kinshasa, amid demands from the opposition and some civil society groups for the vote to be rerun due to massive logistical problems that put the validity of the outcome into question.
Tshisekedi, who has been in office since 24th January 2019, was in the poll followed by businessman Moise Katumbi, who received 18 per cent of the vote, and Martin Fayulu, who received five per cent. Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, a physician renowned for treating women brutalised by sexual violence in eastern Congo, got less than one per cent.
President Tinubu also congratulated the people of the central African country for deepening democratic norms by exercising their rights without resorting to acts inimical to the sustenance of democracy.
“It is welcoming that the last elections in DR Congo were well-concluded. Democracy is sustainable on the continent. I congratulate President Tshisekedi on his victory. The President has demonstrated statesmanship in his handling of regional and continental matters. Africa will overcome any challenge with governance by popular consent, and democracy will thrive”, President Tinubu said.
He wished President Tshisekedi a successful term in office.
