AFRICA/CONGO DR - President Kabila swears in for another term, but the controversy does not stop

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "In Kinshasa, the situation is calm, but we are all waiting for 23 December, when the opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, will appoint himself Head of State" local Church sources told Fides from the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where yesterday, December 20, President Joseph Kabila swore in for another term as Head of State.
The ceremony for Kabila’s resettlement took place in the presence of the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, of Prime Ministers of some African countries and the diplomatic Corps accredited in Kinshasa.
The controversy over the disputed election results held on November 28 have not stopped. Tshisekedi said that the vote was tainted by fraud and that, based on data in his possession, he is the winner of the elections. "No one knows what will happen on December 23 with Tshisekedi’s ceremony of appointing himself, and this is likely to give birth to a very serious political and institutional confrontation," the sources told Fides. The international community will play a key role in recognizing or not the Tshisekedi’s arguments.
The U.S. State Department said it is "deeply disappointed" by the decision of the Supreme Court to validate the Congolese provisional data published by the Independent Electoral Commission, and thus Kabila’s victory, without first "fully assessing the widespread reports of irregularities." Even the European Union has warned Kinshasa that it could review its financial support to the DRC in terms of how the next legislative elections will take place.
The Congolese Bishops will hold an extraordinary Plenary Assembly in Kinshasa from January 9 to 11 "to discuss last November’s election process," says the local Episcopal Conference’s website. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 21/12/2011)