|
DR CONGO
Vote counting begins in DR Congo
|
|
An official result is not expected for some weeks. Votes are being counted in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after the first multiparty election in 40 years.
Full results of Sunday's polls are not expected for weeks. The elections were aimed at ending a long civil war, with 32 candidates, including incumbent Joseph Kabila, contesting the presidency.
More than 9,000 candidates were running for parliament, and some 25m voters, were protected by the biggest UN peacekeeping operation in the world. |
Mr Kabila, who came to power unelected in 2001, has told the BBC he will accept the result of Sunday's presidential elections, even if he loses.
"It would have been the verdict of the people and of course we will definitely accept the verdict of the people," he said.
Supporters of vice-president and former warlord Jean- Pierre Bemba demonstrated on the streets of the capital, Kinshasa, saying they were cheated.
Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi and his UDPS party also boycotted the vote. There were reports of violence on election day in Mr Tshisekedi's stronghold, the south-eastern Kasai region.
Three people were hurt when a petrol bomb was thrown at a polling station in the town of Mbuyi Maji, the AFP news agency reported.
But a United Nations official said he was "relieved" and "delighted" with how the voting
had gone.
"All indications that we have, not just from Kinshasa, but across the country is that the population has responded fairly substantively," UN envoy Ross Mountain said.
"The number of incidents have been absolutely minimal. The security hasn't been a problem and it has been an extraordinary day for Congo."
|
