The U.N. human rights office said on Friday that it had documented 34 people killed, 59 wounded and 241 “arbitrary arrests” in the Democratic Republic of Congo since provisional election results were announced a week ago.
“We appeal for calm, whenever the results are announced. We have already seen that there has been quite a bit of tension and even violence”, U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a Geneva news briefing.
The December 30 vote was meant to lead to Congo’s first democratic handover of power since independence from Belgium in 1960. But hope for a new era after 18 years of chaotic rule by President Joseph Kabila has faded in a welter of controversy.
The second-place finisher, Martin Fayulu, has contested the result based on his camp’s tallies, saying that the official winner, opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi, struck a deal with Kabila. Tshisekedi and Kabila deny this.
