Tshisekedi Elected DR Congo President

The Democratic Republic of Congo gets a new leader. He is Felix Tshisekedi of the opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress party.

The election of Tshisekedi brings to an end the dominance by the Kabilas of the nation's presidency.

Outgoing President Josef Kabila took power in 2001, 10 days after the assassination of his father, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who had himself been President since 1997. After succeeding his father, Kabila was elected President in 2006, and re-elected for a second term In 2011.

The subsequent declaration of the winner had been preceded by weeks of anxiety where the election had to be scheduled and rescheduled.
                         
The announcement of the result by the electoral commission Wednesday came three days after it was scheduled to be announced Sunday and over a week after the polls.

In his victory speech, Tshisekedi said "I pay tribute to President Joseph Kabila and today we should no longer see him as an adversary, but rather, a partner in democratic change in our country,"

However, another opposition candidate Martin Fayulu has rejected the results, which the Catholic Church in DR Congo says it does not reflect the views of its observers. 

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