‘Congo oppn leader would win fair vote’

Bloomberg

An opposition candidate in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the clear favourite to win Sunday’s presidential election if the long-awaited vote is free and fair, according to an opinion poll.
Martin Fayulu, a former Exxon Mobil Corp. manager who heads an opposition alliance, had the support of 47 percent of those surveyed, according to results published by New York University’s Congo Research Group.
Twenty-four percent backed Felix Tshisekedi, who heads Congo’s largest opposition party, while Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, a former interior minister nominated by outgoing President Joseph Kabila as his successor, trailed with 19 percent.
“This is a remarkable rise in popularity for a politician who was little known outside of Kinshasa a year ago,” CRG said of Fayulu. If the election is free and fair, an opposition candidate “would be almost certain to win the presidency,” it said, adding that 53 percent of respondents indicated they wouldn’t accept the declaration of Shadary as winner.