Elections are now common in Africa. In a continent once dominated by coups, all but a handful of countries’ voters have regular recourse to the ballot box. Though contests are rarely flawless, in many countries the will of the people prevails. In a second set of countries, dominated by ageing despots or a single party, voters are given an illusion of choice. The system is rigged and, if necessary, votes flagrantly miscounted.
Presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken a slightly different turn. To many people’s surprise, the electoral commission on Thursday announced victory for Felix Tshisekedi, an opposition candidate, promising the first transfer of power via the ballot box since the vast central African country’s independence in 1960. There was one hitch: Mr Tshisekedi did not get the most votes.
The probable true winner, according to a credible parallel tabulation, was Martin Fayulu, a former ExxonMobil executive considered threatening to the interests of Joseph Kabila, the incumbent who took power 17 years ago. In what smacks of outright fraud, the electoral commission pronounced Mr Tshisekedi the winner amid well-founded rumours of a backroom deal between him and the president.
In its messy, contradictory way, Congo is lurching towards a kind of democracy. Mr Kabila may be congratulating himself on his crafty plan. But he has not been able to have things his own way. Time and again, through sheer force of will, the Congolese people have thwarted his plans.
Having amassed a huge fortune through control of the country’s massive mineral resources, Mr Kabila’s preferred option had been to remain as president. But waves of street protests from 2016 forced him to stand down and accept an election, albeit two years after the constitution dictated.
Mr Kabila’s administration then pulled out all the stops to ensure victory for a proxy, Emmanuel Shadary. It hampered the opposition from campaigning, disenfranchised parts of the country and installed easy-to-manipulate electronic voting machines. Despite such ruses, voters turned out in their millions to reject Mr Kabila’s choice. That left the president grasping for a third — and once unthinkable — stratagem, of conferring victory on opposition leader Mr Tshisekedi.
Mr Fayulu is now challenging the result in the constitutional court. It would be a miracle if that body, stacked with Mr Kabila’s appointees, overturned the result. But miracles have happened before. In Kenya in 2017, the supreme court stunned the continent by annulling a problematic election. Congo’s constitutional court could do the same. It must demand that the electoral commission present a detailed breakdown of results. If it cannot, the court should order a recount or a rerun.
At such volatile moments, it is tempting to take the path of least resistance. Too often foreign powers, in the interests of supposed stability, have endorsed results they know to be false. This time, both neighbours such as South Africa and Angola, and the wider international community, should resist that temptation. Turning a blind eye to electoral fraud would betray Congolese voters and the hundreds who lost their lives in the protests from 2016.
Beyond the specifics of who wins, the Congolese have made their will clear. They want an end to exploitative elites who, in cahoots with foreign companies, have siphoned off the country’s wealth and left the majority in penury. Democracy, however messy, is gaining traction in Africa, including Congo. The people have said: enough. The constitutional court, and anyone else with influence, should join them in that cry.
