Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC)’s electoral commission has declared opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi winner of the country’s presidential elections.
If confirmed, Mr Tshisekedi will be the first opposition challenger to win since the DR Congo gained independence.
He is ahead of rival opposition candidate Martin Fayulu who refuses to recognise the outcomes declaring the results as a fraud. The interim result can still be challenged.
The official election outcome are initially expected to be announced on Sunday.
In the early hours of Thursday the head of DR Congo’s National Electoral Commission (Ceni), Corneille Nangaa, said Mr Tshisekedi had received 38.5% of the vote and had been “provisionally declared the elected president”.
Current President Joseph Kabila is stepping down after 18 years in office and has promised its first orderly transfer of power.
The full results were, with turnout reportedly 48%:
- Felix Tshisekedi – 7 million votes
- Martin Fayulu – 6.4 million votes
- Emmanuel Shadary – 4.4 million votes
