On Sunday in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Denis Kadima, the director of the national election commission, officially declared Felix Tshisekedi as the victor, securing 73.34 percent of the votes.
The December 20 election faced logistical challenges, leading to an extension in certain regions. Opposition voices alleged that these issues were orchestrated to favour Tshisekedi. Post-announcement, dissent manifested as street protests by several opponents.
“We categorically reject the sham elections… and its results,” the main opposition candidates said in a joint statement.
They also insisted on holding new elections on a date that would be agreed upon by all parties, using a new electoral body.
But according to Kadima, the election results showed the people’s will.
On January 20, Tshisekedi is scheduled to take office for a second term.
Who is Felix Tshisekedi?
Felix was born on the 13th of June 1963. He is a Congolese politician who has been the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo since January 24, 2019.
He is the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the DRC’s oldest and largest party, succeeding his late father Etienne Tshiesekedi.
Tshisekedi lived and worked in Brussels, Belgium, in 1985. There, he got involved with the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDSP), the biggest political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by joining its Belgium wing.
After returning home, he assumed the role of UDSP National Secretary for External Relations. With strong party affiliations, Tshisekedi progressed to become vice secretary-general in 2016 and eventually the UDSP’s chief executive in 2018.
In 1995, Félix Tshisekedi married Denise Nyakéru Tshisekedi, a native of Bukavu in the eastern DRC. Following their divorce in 2001, he wed Marthe Kasalu Jibikila, and they share two sons, Félix and Christian Tshisekedi.
After his father Étienne Tshisekedi’s passing in 2018, Félix received a presidential nomination from the UDSP.
Inaugurated on January 24, 2019, Tshisekedi became the fifth president of the country, marking the first amicable transition. Fulfilling a campaign promise, he issued an order in 2021 to release over 700 political prisoners detained by his predecessor, President Joseph Kabila Kabange.
In a notable move, Tshisekedi encouraged all political exiles to return to the DRC, earning commendation from Amnesty International for his commitment to restoring human rights and dignity in the country—an uncommon stance among African political figures.
