The African Union on Tuesday hailed the generally peaceful conduct of the second-round presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and called for calm as the vast nation awaits final results.
In a statement released in Ethiopia, AU Commission chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare welcomed ”the smooth conduct of the second round of the presidential election in the DRC”.
He commended the election panel for ”the effective organisation of the elections, as well as all the Congolese political actors for the sense of responsibility they have demonstrated”.
Konare appealed for calm as vote counting got under way to determine the country’s next president from the two top contenders: incumbent Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba.
In addition, the AU commission’s chief urged ”all Congolese parties to continue to show the same sense of responsibility in order for the electoral process to be successfully completed in an atmosphere of peace and transparency”.
While the two men’s followers clashed in the run-up to the second-round vote, both men pledged to guarantee the security of the loser and not contest the result of the election.
The polls were largely peaceful, but two election officials were killed in one of a number of incidents that marred the polls.
Results from Sunday’s polls, the final lap in DRC’s first-ever free elections in four decades, are not expected until November 19. — Sapa-AFP