President Joseph Kabila and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba will face off in the second round of the presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on October 29, the country’s Supreme Court confirmed on Friday.
The court published final results from the first round on July 30, confirming preliminary results giving Kabila the lead with 44,8% of the vote compared with Bemba’s 20%.
”Kabila Kabange Joseph and Bemba Gombo Jean-Pierre are admitted to the second round of the elections … as they both received the largest number of votes in the first round,” the court said in a statement.
Preliminary results on August 20 prompted violent clashes in the capital, Kinshasa, between troops loyal to the two candidates, leaving 23 dead, but a fragile United Nations-brokered truce has reigned since.
The Supreme Court had declared as unconstitutional on Wednesday the electoral calendar set out by the DRC independent electoral commission, saying it had not respected the necessary 15-day deadline between the announcement of preliminary results and the second round.
But the electoral commission appealed the ruling, saying that keeping to the deadline was not possible due to logistical constraints in a country the size of Western Europe and little infrastructure.
The court responded on Friday by extending the deadline to 50 days. — Sapa-AFP