Kabila declared Congo election winner
Incumbent President Joseph Kabila was declared the winner of Congo’s tense decider election, defeating his ex-rebel leader rival in the war-torn country’s first multi-party contest in more than 40 years.
Kabila won with about 58% of the vote, compared with nearly 42% for Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, said Apollinaire Malu Malu, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission.
International observers have deemed the October 29 ballot largely free and fair, but Bemba supporters have alleged widespread fraud, and on Saturday his fighters battled police and troops loyal to Kabila for several hours in the capital Kinshasa, leaving three civilians and one soldier dead.
Speaking in a televised address last night after being declared victor, 35-year-old Kabila called for calm and said police and army troops were working to ensure security.
“Peace must reign in every corner of the country. Long live democracy. Long live the new Democratic Republic of Congo,” Kabila said. “I ask you tonight to remain united and to live in fraternity and tolerance.”
A few dozen people filled some Kinshasa bars and made celebratory toasts, while car horns honked in victory in an elite suburb. From Bemba’s home there was silence, repeated over most of the capital of nearly seven million people, where the opposition leader enjoys massive support.
The vote is the final step of a transition to democratic rule that started with a peace deal four years ago that ended years of war, reunited the country and gave rebel leaders who once controlled vast swathes of the north and the east top positions in government. Bemba became one of four vice presidents.
Kabila looked set for victory since earlier this week, when results showed him with an insurmountable lead. No official winner had been declared by the electoral commission until last night, when Malu Malu made the announcement on state television that Kabila won a five-year term.
The electoral commission had said it would look into Bemba’s complaints alleging fraud, but Malu Malu made no reference to the investigations.
Kabila won 9,436,779 votes, compared with 6,819,822 votes for Bemba, Malu Malu said. Turnout among the nation’s 25 million registered voters was about 65%.
Kabila first inherited the nation’s top post when his father, Laurent Kabila, was assassinated by a bodyguard in 2001.
The elder Kabila was propelled to power at the head of a Rwandan-backed rebellion in 1997 that ousted late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who had ruled for 32 years. The country then suffered another 1998-2002 war that drew in the armies of half a dozen African nations.
