Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi is sworn in for for second term following his disputed reelection

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in on Saturday for his second five-year term following a contentious December election. During the ceremony, he pledged to unify the Central African country and safeguard lives in the conflict-ridden eastern region.

The election commission reported that Tshisekedi secured over 70% of the vote for his reelection. However, opposition candidates and their supporters raised concerns about the election’s validity, citing logistical challenges that marred the process.

“I am taking back the baton of command that you entrusted to me. We want a more united, stronger and prosperous Congo,” Tshikedi, 60, said during the inauguration ceremony attended by several heads of state. His first inauguration in 2019 marked Congo’s first democratic transfer of power since the country’s independence from Belgium in 1960.

Many polling stations were late in opening or didn’t open at all while some lacked materials. Voter turnout was 40%, the election commission said.

Congo’s constitutional court earlier this month rejected a petition by an opposition candidate to annul the election. The court ruled that malpractice allegations were unfounded and that Tshisekedi secured “a majority of votes cast.”

Opposition candidates asked their supporters to protest the president’s inauguration, though there were no signs of protests in the capital, Kinshasa, on Saturday.

Congo, a country of more than 100 million people, is blessed with sprawling mineral resources, but economic and security challenges have stifled its developments. One in four citizens faces crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity, according to U.N. statistics.

Eastern Congo continues to be ravaged by more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of resources such as gold and trying to protect their communities, some of them quietly backed by Congo’s neighbors. The violence, which has displaced nearly 7 million people, has included mass killings.

Analysts say peace and stability in eastern Congo is one of the country’s most pressing needs. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country is ending after more than two decades. Troops from an East African regional force are also departing.

“We expect from President Félix Tshisekedi, during his second term, many changes, particularly in the east, where thousands of citizens are still dying, to improve the situation of people and the functions of the state, and above all to improve the well-being and better being of Congolese,” Patrick Mbembe, 48, said in the capital.

Tshisekedi became president in 2019 after emerging from the shadow of his father, who was one of Congo’s most population figures. The presidency eluded Etienne Tshisekedi, but his 2017 death helped catapult his son into the limelight.

With inputs from agencies.