KINSHASA: The DR Congo was on edge Friday waiting for the winner of its November 28 elections to be announced, after repeated delays in a vote count marred by chaos and fears of post-poll violence.
President Joseph Kabila, in power since 2001, looks set to win a new five-year term, leading chief rival Etienne Tshisekedi 49 percent to 33 with about nine-tenths of polling centres counted in the latest results.
But the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which has been criticised by international observers for a lack of transparency in the counting process, has repeatedly postponed declaring the winner, from Tuesday to Thursday and then to Friday.
CENI chief Daniel Ngoy Mulunda said Thursday officials needed more time to cross-check electronic and paper vote counts, calling it "a huge job".
A CENI spokesman told AFP journalists to be at the commission's briefing room by 10:00 am (0900 GMT) Friday for the result, but no officials were there by early afternoon and international diplomats had left.
State TV station RTNC displayed a message assuring the announcement would indeed happen Friday, and also had emergency and police telephone numbers posted permanently on screen.
RTNC has had an anti-violence public service announcement on regular rotation, displaying images from previous wars and conflicts in the restive central African country to a song that implores viewers, "Don't do this to our Congo".
Analysts have warned the country risks descending into conflict in the wake of the elections, just the second since back-to-back wars from 1996 to 2003.
Human Rights Watch said at least 18 civilians have already died in election-related violence on November 26 and 28, mostly shot dead by Kabila's presidential guard during a crackdown on a Tshisekedi rally in Kinshasa.
The International Crisis Group, which has put the country on its "conflict risk alert" list, called Thursday for a post-election mediation process led by the UN, the EU and the African Union.
Tshisekedi has rejected early results showing Kabila ahead and made veiled threats of violence if the incumbent wins.
In Kinshasa, police patrols have been out in force and some 20,000 soldiers are on stand-by at military bases.
Soldiers from Kabila's presidential guard were posted at intersections leading to Kabila's residence in Gombe neighbourhood Friday.
Police this week used tear gas to disperse potential opposition protests before they could start, chasing away Tshisekedi supporters armed with rocks and petrol bombs.
Other possible flashpoints include Katanga province, a Kabila stronghold that was rocked by deadly rebel attacks on election day, and the provinces of eastern and western Kasai, where Tshisekedi has strong support.
Tshisekedi's party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), has accused the CENI of faking its numbers, calling the count "illegal, opaque and biased" and demanding the release of results polling centre by polling centre.
International observers have echoed the call, asking for greater transparency.
Opposition parties have reacted sceptically to the CENI's repeated delays.
"If it's designed to serve the credibility of the results, it's a good thing. If it's designed to hide something, that's going to be a problem," an aide to Francois Nicephore Kakese, one of the 10 opposition candidates, told AFP.
The supreme court is charged with hearing election disputes and declaring the definitive winner on December 17.
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