Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila won over 85% of the vote in his stronghold in the east of the country, the first official results to trickle in from the July 30 landmark elections showed on Tuesday.
By Tuesday morning, results had been posted in at least three of the country’s 62 regional election centres, all three in the east: Goma and Beni in the North Kivu district, and Kindu in Maniema.
According to Agence France-Presse calculations based on data from the three centres, Kabila won 87,7% of the vote.
Azarias Ruberwa, head of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), a former rebel movement turned political party, was in second place with 2,8%.
Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, a favourite in the country as a whole, was third with 1%.
The 62 regional election centres receive and compile results from the 50 000 voting centres in the vast Central African country.
Final results for the whole country are not expected until later in August because of the logistical hurdles presented by the DRC’s size and lack of infrastructure.
The nation will also learn the results of the vote for a 500-seat Parliament from more than 9 700 candidates, which took place alongside the presidential poll, within the coming weeks.
A second presidential round will take place on October 29 unless Kabila or one of his 32 challengers wins 50% or more of votes cast. — Sapa-AFP