Three ministers and four governors have been disqualified from the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election due to fraud and violence. The 82 candidates were excluded from the legislative, provincial, and local elections by the electoral body. The opposition has called the election a "sham" and demanded a rerun. Only one of the 19 opposition candidates has gone to court, and the main ones have called for protests without saying when.
The 20 December election was marred by widespread logistical problems, with polling stations opening late and voting machines not working on the first day. Millions of people waited for hours before voting, many giving up and going home. The electoral commission cited fraud, corruption, acts of violence against election workers and voters, and vandalism of equipment as reasons for disqualification.
The results of the elections they were contesting have not yet been declared, but all votes cast for the 82 candidates have been annulled. There were about 100,000 candidates across all the elections held on 20 December, and only the presidential race has been announced so far. Elections were also cancelled in two of the country's 484 constituencies and in 16 areas in the east due to armed groups.
Election chief Denis Kadima has previously insisted that the presidential result reflected the will of the Congolese people. President Félix Tshisekedi was elected for a second term with 73% of the vote.
