DRC opposition chief wins vote
Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was yesterday declared the victor of DR Congo's controversial presidential election in a surprise result swiftly denounced by his rival as a "coup".
In a pre-dawn announcement, the election commission named Tshisekedi, son of the country's late veteran opposition leader, as provisional winner of the bitterly-contested December 30 vote.
The 55-year-old immediately pledged to work closely with current incumbent Joseph Kabila.
But the result was immediately denounced by his opposition rival Martin Fayulu, the runner up, who slammed the announcement as "an electoral coup".
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the declared outcome was "not consistent" with the results, saying that Fayulu appeared to have won.
The United Nations and African Union have warned against any resort to violence.
Meanwhile, in a worrying sign, two police and two civilians were killed in the western DR Congo city of Kikwit yesterday when police intervened to end protests over the outcome of presidential elections, security forces said.
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