By Our Online Team

5^th Dec 2011:

Opposition parties in Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] have rejected partial results released by the country’s Electoral Commission giving incumbent President Joseph Kabila an early lead in the vote count from the November 28 presidential election.  Partial results released by CENI on Friday showed Kabila with 52% of valid votes compare to 34% for main opposition leader Tshisekedi.

In a joint statement signed by 10 major opposition parties, including that of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, the opposition on Saturday cited irregularities and said the Electoral Commission was “…psychologically preparing the population for fraud.”  The early count results included more of the incumbent’s traditional strongholds than his main rival’s

As a consequence, the opposition statement added, “…we reject these partial results and consider them null and void.”  They also said that the manner in which the Electoral Commission was releasing the results was illegal.  They called for mediation by other African leaders, but rejected forming a government of national unity with Kabila.

Catholic Bishops in the DRC sounded the alarm over the political situation on Sunday, saying it was like “a train going toward a wall” as the country awaits election results.  “…We have the impression that in the current situation, the image we have given is that of a high speed train going straight toward a wall,” Bishop Nicolas Djombo, President of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo, told a press conference in Kinshasa.

The Church deployed 30,000 observers to monitor the elections, covering 24 percent of the almost 64,000 polling centres.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.