Congo: Felix Tshisekedi sworn in as president for second term amid disputes

Kinshasa [Congo]: Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in for the second term as the President of Democratic Republic of the Congo following highly contested elections in December last year, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday. 

“I am taking back the baton of command that you entrusted to me. We want a more united, stronger and prosperous Congo,” Tshisekedi (60) said during the inauguration ceremony in the capital on Saturday. 

“I am aware of your expectations,” he declared, referring among other things to unemployment, youth, women’s rights and national cohesion. 

With tensions simmering in the vast nation’s volatile eastern provinces, the leader known as ‘Fatshi’ picked Kinshasa’s 80,000-capacity Martyrs sports stadium for the inauguration ceremony. 

Tshisekedi was first sworn in as president in January 2019, after a controversial victory against Joseph Kabila, according to Al Jazeera. 

He won the first time promising to improve living conditions in the DRC – which boasts mineral riches but has a largely impoverished population of 100 million – and put an end to 25 years of bloodshed in the east. 

Although, he did not succeed in achieving those promises, this time he campaigned strongly on his first-term achievements such as free primary medication, asking for another mandate to “consolidate” the progress. 
The Congolese president made a landslide victory in the December 20 elections winning more than 70 per cent of the vote. The election had more than 40 per cent turnout, with some 18 million people voting, Al Jazeera reported. 

Even before the results were announced in late December, opposition candidates – including businessman Moise Katumbi who finished behind Tshisekedi with 18 per cent of the vote -rejected the results and called on the population to mobilise.