KINSHASA: Clashes between opposition protesters and security forces broke out in parts of Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, killing at least one, a day after election authorities named incumbent President Joseph Kabila winner of a disputed poll.
Gunfire rang out in some cities, including the capital Kinshasa, after Kabila's main challenger, Etienne Tshisekedi, said he rejected the official results and declared himself the new leader of the vast central African state.
"Since last night it has been very bad, we haven't been able to sleep because of the gunfire," said Tresor Nkuna, a resident of Kinshasa, an urban sprawl of 10 million people. "We don't know when it'll stop, it's very violent," he said.
Many other parts of Kinshasa were quiet with people staying indoors, witnesses said, but clashes between protesters and security forces were reported elsewhere in the country, with the United Nations reporting at least one dead. Protests also erupted in former colonial power Belgium.
Congo's Nov. 28 vote was its first locally-organised presidential contest since a 1998-2003 war that killed more than 5 million people, and was meant to move the country on a path to greater stability. But the poll was marked by violence, chaotic preparations and allegations of fraud.
Concerns are mounting of a prolonged and violent dispute over the outcome, and diplomatic sources have said international mediation efforts may be needed to avert a crisis.
Congo's election commission announced on Friday that Kabila took nearly 49 percent of the votes to Tshisekedi's roughly 32 percent, winning him a new mandate. The results must now be ratified by the Supreme Court.
Tshisekedi called the results "a provocation" and said he considered himself Congo's new president.
An official at the US-based Carter Center election observer mission said some results released on the election commission website appeared suspicious, with some areas showing 100 percent turnout with all votes going to Kabila.
"These results aren't even naturally occurring. You simply don't get that many people all being healthy, motivated, getting to the polls and voting in such unison," Carter Center mission manager David Pottie said.
In the Manono district of Katanga, where Kabila has strong support, voter turnout was recorded at 100.14 percent with Kabila winning 99.98 percent of the votes. The website also showed that the results from nearly 2,000 polling stations in opposition stronghold Kinshasa had not been tallied.
An election commission official said the body was investigating some of the results, but added that overwhelming support for Kabila in Katanga was to be expected.
"We must launch an inquiry very quickly," said commission spokesman Mathieu Mpita. "But don't forget it's very, very tribal in some parts of Katanga. They didn't accept any other candidate except Kabila to campaign there."
The United States and the United Nations on Friday urged against post-election violence. The UN said disputes should go through the proper legal channels.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the Kinshasa government "remains responsible for providing security for the people of the Congo" and that anyone involved in violence "must be held accountable."
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