DR Congo has experienced its first transition of power via an election. Felix Tshisekedi has taken over from President Joseph Kabila despite questions over last month's vote.
Image: Reuters/O. Acland
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Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, replacing longtime President Joseph Kabila following disputed elections.
During his inaugural speech, Tshisekedi briefly fell ill and left the stage. He later returned to finish his remarks, saying that he was exhausted by the election process and overcome by the emotion of the occasion.
In his remarks, Tshisekedi pledged to release all political prisoners in the country. He also appealed for peace and tolerance.
Ahead of the swearing in ceremony, Kabila on Wednesday said he would hand over power "without regret" and urged Congolese to support Tshisekedi, the 55-year-old son of the late opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi.
Kabila, 47, had ruled the mineral-rich African giant since 2001 following the assassination of his father, rebel-turned-president Laurent.
Thursday's ceremony marked Congo's first transfer of power via an election since gaining independence from Belgium in 1960. The country has been marred by a tumultuous history of coups, despots, assassinations, foreign interventions, civil war and the gutting of state institutions.
Questions over vote
Tshisekedi was declared the winner of the election with 38.5 percent of the vote, while the opposition runner-up Martin Fayulu gained 34.8 percent. Kabila's preferred successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, got 23.8 percent.
Fayulu has claimed he was the true winner of the election and that Kabila and Tshisekedi carried out an "electoral coup." But Fayulu lost a court challenge for a recount.
His supporters accuse Kabila and Tshisekedi of striking a deal once it was clear Shadary had lost.Kabila and Tshisekedi deny there was a backroom deal.
Tallies made by Congo's Catholic Church, which deployed 40,000 election monitors, found that Fayulu won. An pre-election opinion poll by the Congo Research Group, an organization affiliated with New York University, put Fayulu in the lead with 44 percent, followed by Tshisekedi at 24 percent and Shadary lagging behind with 18 percent.
Fayulu claims Kabila and Tshisekedi struck a deal to keep him out of powerImage: Reuters/B. Ratner
Tshisekedi gets international backing
African and Western powers that had previously questioned voting irregularities have since shifted their response to support Tshisekedi in an apparent bid to avoid sparking more violence in the conflict-ridden nation. The previous two presidential elections, in 2006 and 2011, were marred by bloody clashes.
The United States said Wednesday it looked forward to working with Tshisekedi and urged authorities to address "reports of electoral irregularities" and be inclusive.
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that "doubts" remain about the outcome of the election, but he stressed that the priority was to preserve peace and stability in the country.
Much of the population also appears to be simply content with Kabila leaving power and calls by Fayulu for protests have largely gone unheeded.
Kabila lurking behind the scenes?
Kabila's ruling coalition will still retain power in the legislature and be able to appoint the prime minister. In legislative elections held alongside the presidential vote, Kabila's coalition secured about 70 percent of the seats.
Kabila's critics fear that he could rule from the shadows to protect his wealth and network of loyalist power structures, including in the security forces.
Kabila was barred from three consecutive terms but has not ruled out another run for office in 2023.
Africa's opposition leaders who claimed early victories
There's a long history of African opposition candidates declaring themselves the victors of the election. Many contested the results in court, claiming the elections were fraudulent. Here are a few of them.
Martin Fayulu asked the Constitutional Court of DR Congo to nullify the vote result
Martin Fayulu rejected the result of the 30 December 2018 presidential election that placed him runner up to Felix Tshisekedi, another opposition candidate. Fayulu filed an petitioned the Constitutional Court to nullify Tshisekedi's win. But it ruled that his challenge was "inadmissible." Election results had shown Fayulu won 34.8 percent of the vote while Tshisekedi 38.57 percent.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Charlier
Cameroon's Maurice Kamto declares a win
Maurice Kamto, the opposition candidate for the MRC and FDP coalition, declared himself the winner of the presidential vote held on Sunday, October 7, 2018. He is one of seven candidates in the race against Cameroon's longtime leader Paul Biya, who has been in office for 36 years. "I call on President Biya to ensure a peaceful transition and avoid situations that may be ugly," Kamto declared.
Image: Reuters/Z. Bensemra
Nelson Chamisa, the 'legitimate president' of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's young opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, contested the election victory of President Emmerson Mnangagwa after the first post-Mugabe polls were held on July 30, 2018. He proclaimed himself the president in a symbolic swearing-in ceremony.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Delay
Soumaila Cisse rejects results in Mali
Mali's Soumaila Cisse didn't go as far as the inauguration ceremony but spoke of a vacuum of power in Mali after his rival Ibrahim Boubacar Keita took power. On August 20, the constitutional court declared Keita the winner of the election, winning 67 percent of the vote in a run-off election.
Image: Getty Images/I. Sanogo
Kenya's 'peoples president' shakes hands with power
On January 20, 2018, Raila Odinga, the main challenger of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, swore himself in as the "peoples’ president." He had boycotted a re-run of the elections in October 2017, after winning a court case over the legitimacy of the first election. While the post-election environment had been tense, Odinga and Kenyatta announced a surprise reconciliation in March 2018.
Image: Reuters/T. Mukoya
Jean Ping: 'I will exercise the power you invested in me'
Two years after the presidential polls in August 2016, Gabon's opposition leader Jean Ping is still determined to press his point. In August 2018 he reaffirmed his intention to continue his fight. Ping had initially placed his hopes on an investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the post-election violence, yet the case was closed. The criteria to investigate had not been met.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Uganda's Besigye: The longtime rival
In February 2016, Kizza Besigye ran for office for the fourth time against Uganda's 30-year-long leader Yoweri Museveni. When Museveni claimed victory, Besigye inaugurated himself in an alternative ceremony. He was arrested and accused of high treason but was released a few weeks later.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/STRINGER
Etienne Tshisekedi: DRC's two-time 'winner'
In 2006 and 2011, Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo's UDPS party, claimed victory over President Joseph Kabila. He was seen as one of Kabila's main challengers hoping to run again in the next elections. He died after a period of illness in 2017, after which his son Felix took over party leadership.