DRC vote-counting 'fair'
2006-11-17 15:36
Kinshasa - A joint Congolese-European observer mission on Friday declared vote-counting fair after the loser of the country's historic presidential poll, Jean-Pierre Bemba, said he would challenge the result.
The war-ravaged country's Independent Electoral Commission this week declared Bemba the loser with 41.95% against 58.05% for incumbent Joseph Kabila, and the observers said they had seen no problem in the counting of DRC's first democratic poll in 41 years.
A statement from the joint electoral observer mission made up of the country's Civil Society Co-ordination and the European Network in Central Africa (Eurac), said: "The process of compiling the presidential election results was transparent and honest."
The observers said: "No significant irregularities were noted during the compilation." Eurac grouped 44 European NGOs while the RDC observers included 24 local groups plus seven religious ones.
'I cannot accept these results'
But, as Kabila supporters celebrated his win in the east of the vast country, Bemba on Thursday said he would issue a legal challenge.
Bemba, who was one of four vice-presidents in a three-year transition government, said: "I cannot accept these results, which are far from reflecting the truth of the ballot box.
"I make a commitment to use all legal channels to see the will of the people respected."
According to a statement by Stephane Dujarric, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday urged DRC political leaders and people "to receive the results calmly and responsibly, to refrain from any recourse to violence".
Dujarric was Annan's spokesperson
The statement said: "The secretary-general reiterates that any challenges to the provisional results must be pursued in accordance with the electoral law."
During and since the second round of the poll, 1 400 troops sent in by the European Union had patrolled Kinshasa to back a UN mission (Monuc) deployed both as peacekeepers and to help with the electoral process under a 2002 peace accord.
Bemba said he "learned like everybody else, on the airwaves, of the outcome of the second round of the presidential election published by the CEI".
He said: "My surprise was great that the CEI didn't, as arranged, notify the candidates of the results, thus enabling them to react within 48 hours", referring to an accord among parties and the commission to give rivals time to contest possible "material errors" in the figures.
Bemba said: "I want to recall, before national and international opinion, that these elections have been the object of several objections, including six requests I myself sent to the CEI."