🇨🇩 Will DR Congo's surprising election result impact opposition? l Al Jazeera English

Felix Tshisekedi has vowed to be the president "of all Congolese" after the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) electoral commission declared him the winner of the country's long-delayed election.

The result was announced in the early hours of Thursday but has been rejected by rival Martin Fayulu, who was backed by opposition heavyweights and had led in polling prior to the December 30 vote.

Jordan Anderson, country risk analyst for sub-Saharan Africa at the IHS Markit consultancy, talks to Al Jazeera about how the election results will impact the country's opposition.

[jjmbukasa]

Mr Fayulu has strangely benefited from French and Belgian media campain support as well as social media network, which has resulted in the propulsion of a candidate without real base but supported by Bemba, MLC party president who was suddenly freed from the ICC in strange circumstances just before the election after 10 years in jail and Katumbi a rich businessman who has defected from President Kabila rank. They have used their money and relations around the world especially in Belgium and France to influence the result of election in Congo. That was unfair to a party like UDPS of Tshisekedi in a poor country but which has been the main opposition party for more than 37 years, well organised and having a solid base in the whole country. The agitation you see from politicians in Belgium and France and media is from people who have been bitten in their own game and are claiming to be robed after their card Fayulu lost. Some catholic clergymen have played a very strange role recently. 2 weeks ago, while just few days into the counting of votes by the electoral committee, since they had also organised they own parallel counting office, with only 20% of their results in, they called journalists to declare that they knew who won the election but could not reveal the name. And then 1 day after the proclamation of the winner by the Electoral commission 2, days ago, while, 90% of the congolese people were all peacefully chanting and dancing to the winning by Mr Tshisekedi, in a country all the world had predicted will fall into violence when the results will be announced, the same members of the influential Catholic church in Congo did something strange again; without consideration at all of the consequences on the people they supposed to protect in a very flammable environment, they called journalists to say that the results by the electoral commission was not conform to the truth and did not give the name of the winner. And now its agitation again in Europe, in media, in social network by supporters of Fayulu and Tshisekedi and there will certainly be death of people. And me to ask, what interests are some of the Catholic church clergy men in Congo serving for them to be so agitated? Why they did not give their winner name even after the elections? Are they afraid that they do not have enough proof to substantiate their claims or to have contradictions in their calculations. The Pope must put order in its ranks like he is doing in the recent scandals by his men. All are not saints. The Church has been for too long infiltrated by all sorts of people: agents, spy's and you name it. With Tshisekedi and its party strong organisation, Belgium and France are loosing a country that they for decades always wanted to keep in weak state because more controllable for their own interests, a very rich country as Debra, your correspondent said but yet its people are among the poorest in the world. It looks like they have lost it to Anglo Saxons. Now they are calling and running around the world and promised to bring the "stolen elections" in their terms to the Security Council and shake the whole world. They wanted to influence the election and they have been beaten to their own game.

[correspo]

Why bring up ethnicity violence which has not started yet?

[nzanzakil]

Pour le chercheur belge Kris Berwouts, cet appel du pied en direction du pouvoir est le signe d’un arrangement entre le camp Tshisekedi et le clan Kabila. «Cela ne fait aucun doute,  assure-t-il. Un deal a été passé au sein d’un tout petit groupe d’acteurs. Et Vital Kamerhe, véritable animal politique qui connaît par cœur la classe politique congolaise, en est certainement l’artisan.» «Contrairement à son père, qui était intransigeant, qui disait non à tout, Félix a montré qu’il pouvait discuter avec le pouvoir,  abonde le constitutionnaliste Martin Mulumba, de l’université Paris-I. De son côté, le régime a vite compris qu’il ne pouvait pas remporter cette élection, il lui fallait sauver les meubles et Félix Tshisekedi représentait le moindre mal.»