Partial results issued by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) electoral commission overnight make it all but certain that President Joseph Kabila will be declared the winner, setting the stage for possible clashes between his backers and those loyal to the main opposition candidate.
Supporters of longtime opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi have vowed to take to the streets if Kabila is declared the winner.
Just before midnight on Tuesday, election commission chief Daniel Ngoy Mulunda announced that the commission will require another 48 hours to issue the final provisional results. The delay, he said, is due to the fact that tally sheets from numerous provinces have still not been turned in. Helicopters have been dispatched to try to collect them in this vast largely roadless Central African nation.
With 89.2% of precincts counted, Kabila had with 8.3-million out of the 17.3-million votes, or 48%. was trailing with 5.9-million votes, or 34%. The results were published Wednesday on the website of a United Nations-backed broadcaster, Radio Okapi.
Late Tuesday, members of Kabila’s ruling party crowded inside Kinshasa’s Grand Hotel for a festive celebration.
Military on standby
Meanwhile, troops in Kinshasa are on standby as fears of a fresh explosion of violence intensify.
Tshisekedi earlier said he rejected partial results showing Kabila in the lead and has made veiled threats of violence if the incumbent is declared the winner.
Observers said the delay will only ratchet up tensions that have been growing since an election marred by rebel attacks in the south-eastern city of Lubumbashi, chaos and rioting at polling centres and a deadly police crackdown on Tshisekedi’s supporters on the last day of the campaign.
“Tension is on the rise since voting day,” said Thierry Vircoulon, central Africa director for the International Crisis Group, which has put the DRC on its “conflict risk alert” list.
“People are getting sceptical. When you reach a certain level of disorganisation, people wonder if the process is really free and fair and if there’s no manipulation behind the scenes,” he said.
Unusually quiet
About 20Â 000 soldiers are on stand-by at bases in Kinshasa, and convoys of large trucks packed with armed police carrying gas masks were seen on the capital’s unusually quiet streets.
In Mbuji-Mayi, capital of Kasai Oriental province and a Tshisekedi stronghold, authorities had imposed a 10pm to 6am curfew, while Kabila’s presidential guard was deployed in Lubumbashi, the country’s second city.
Tensions also spilled over into the Congolese diaspora.
In London, about 300 protesters accusing Western countries of backing Kabila clashed with police outside Prime Minister David Cameron’s residence.
Two people were treated for injuries and 17 were arrested on suspicion of obstructing a highway, a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.
In Toronto, about 150 protesters swarmed a police car and dirt was thrown at officers, prompting an emergency radio call for back-up.
Congolese protesters also clashed with police on Monday in Brussels, where nearly 100 Tshisekedi supporters were arrested according to the Belga news agency, and in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The elections are just the second since back-to-back wars from 1996 to 2003 in a country ranked last on the UN’s development index despite a wealth of cobalt, copper, diamonds and gold.
The supreme court has until December 17 to review the result and declare the official winner. — Sapa-AP, AFP