Early results from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential election in December showed President Felix Tshisekedi leading on Sunday with more than 73 percent of the vote, marred by severe logistical problems, protests and calls for annulment by several opposition candidates.

The announcement was a critical moment in an election marked by acute problems — some because of Congo’s vast size, others because of haste and disorganization — that many fear will tip the Central African country into a new round of political unrest and even violence Unrest could overturn occurred in most polls in recent years.

The election results are significant not only for Congo’s 100 million people, who have suffered from decades of conflict and poor governance, but also for Western countries that see Congo as a crucial part of their efforts to curb climate change and transition to green energy.

Congo produces 70 percent of the world’s cobalt, a key element in the electric vehicle industry and has the second largest rainforest, which absorbs large amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide. But for many in Congo, a decades-old, corruption-ridden system of political patronage is seen as the best way to distribute the spoils of this natural wealth – which may explain why the presidential election is so hotly contested.

Five of the 19 candidates strongly opposed the electoral process days before the results were announced and called for a repeat election.

On December 23, five opposition leaders accused the country’s election commission of “massive fraud.” called on the chairman of the commission to resign and said the entire vote should be canceled. Four days later, opposition leaders staged a demonstration in the capital Kinshasa to protest what they called a “sham election.” Security forces surrounded the offices of Martin Fayulu, one of the opposition candidates, and fired tear gas at protesters there, according to his spokesman and videos posted on social media.

Opposition leaders, including Moïse Katumbi, a business tycoon and President Tshisekedi’s closest rival, condemned the security forces’ actions and promised more marches across the country.

Mr. Katumbi received 3 million votes, or about 18 percent of the ballots counted. Mr Fayulu received just over 960,000 votes.

“A point of no return has just been passed,” Mr Katumbi said said on social media earlier this week. “This first march will be followed by further actions across the country. Cheating, deceit and lying will not happen.”

But Mr Tshisekedi, the incumbent and long-time favorite to win, repeatedly insisted that the election, the The operation cost more than $1.25 billionwas good enough.

Long before the first votes were cast on December 20th, the election was marred by logistical chaos. For weeks, election workers rushed in the middle of rain to deliver materials to 75,000 polling stations in a country the size of Western Europe that had few paved roads this time of year.

Still, only 70 percent of polling stations were open on election day, the election commission said, prompting it to extend voting to a second day. Opposition leaders condemned the extension, saying it would facilitate fraud. It has also been criticized by the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, which enjoy broad public support throughout Congolese society and have a network of election observers. The churches said the move violated the country’s election laws and was unconstitutional.

Voting continued even on Dec. 22 in remote areas, including parts of Kwango and Kasai provinces, the Rev. Rigobert Minani, a prominent Catholic activist, said in a text message.

The electoral commission acknowledged the delays but insisted extending the vote did not undermine its legitimacy.

Just over 18 million of the 44 million registered voters cast their votes, the electoral commission said on Sunday.

Mr Tshisekedi, who came to power in highly contentious circumstances in 2019, had hoped this election would be an easy victory.

In that vote, unofficial tallies by Catholic and other observers showed that another candidate – Martin Fayulu, a former oil executive – probably won three times as many votes as Mr Tshisekedi. But after several weeks of political unrest, Mr Tshisekedi reached a power-sharing agreement with outgoing President Joseph Kabila, who had ruled for 18 years.

That deal collapsed within a year, and since then Mr Tshisekedi has effectively consolidated his power and won popular support by providing free primary education to millions of Congolese children. But failed to keep two important promises – viz Bring peace to eastern CongoWhere The conflict raged since 1996 and to combat the country’s notorious reputation for corruption.

Instead, political opponents claim that Mr Tshisekedi and his extended family acquired considerable wealth during his time in office.

The United States played a crucial role after Congo’s last elections in December 2018, when it approved the controversial power-sharing deal between Mr. Tshisekedi and Mr. Kabila. This time, American officials were at pains to emphasize that they were not taking sides.

In a Dec. 22 statement, the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa noted the logistical problems surrounding the vote and called on Congolese leaders to “exercise restraint” and peacefully resolve any resulting electoral disputes.

Emma Bubola contributed reporting from London.