The Constitutional Court in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has rejected two petitions filed against the election victory of incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi.
The court started hearing the petitions on Monday, and after two days, it gave its ruling, stating that the petitions lacked merit.
The petitions were separately filed by a presidential candidate, Theodore Ngoy, and another citizen.
The petitioners had argued that the December 20, 2023 presidential election, which saw Tshisekedi declared the winner with 13.06 million votes (73.34%), was marred by irregularities.
Katumbi, Fayulu fail to petition
Opposition candidates, led by first runner-up Moise Katumbi, rejected the electoral outcome, alleging that the election was tilted in favour of Tshisekedi.
Though the foremost opposition candidates disputed the result, they did not file petitions at the constitutional court, alleging that the court was pro-government.
Theodore Ngoy, who came last in the election that attracted 20 candidates, filed a petition seeking to have the president-elect's win nullified.
Ngoy told the court that there were "flagrant violations of the electoral law," adding that "socio-political situation in the country, the irregular registration process of voters and a seven-day extension of the voting process" added to the electoral malpractice.
Fresh election request
The petitioner had asked the court to nullify Tshisekedi's win, and order a fresh election after a new electoral board has been constituted.
His petition alongside that of his co-petitioner were rejected on Tuesday.
Katumbi got 18% of the votes cast to trail Tshisekedi, while second runner-up Martin Fayulu got 5% of the votes.
Some 18 million people out of the 44 million registered voters cast their ballots in the Congolese presidential election, the country's electoral board, CENI, said.
The court's decision now paves the way for Tshisekedi's swearing-in for a second term.
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