Poll results: Kabila urges calm
2006-11-15 15:29
Kinshasa - President Joseph Kabila urged Congolese to remain calm on Wednesday after former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba rejected partial election results showing Kabila with a commanding lead in a presidential run-off.
Kabila said the police and army remained loyal to him, suggesting security forces would not tolerate further trouble after clashes with Bemba's supporters in August and last weekend.
Kabila said: "I would say to the population of our country, to the Congolese people ... that they should remain calm and wait for the publication of official results by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).
"There are institutions in place. In case of any escalation, there is the justice system, of course.
"And there are the security forces, which are there, are they not, to protect the population and their belongings, protect the institutions and protect the CEI, and protect everybody."
The historic October 29 vote was the culmination of a peace process lasting several years since the DRC's 1998-2003 war in which Bemba led a rebel faction before joining a power-sharing government.