•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

The Democratic Republic of Congo's electoral standoff intensified Saturday as the government threatened to prosecute defiant runner-up Etienne Tshisekedi and police said four people had died in post-poll violence.

The election commission announced on Friday that incumbent Joseph Kabila had won the November 28 election with 49 percent of votes cast to 32 percent for Tshisekedi.

The veteran opposition leader rejected that result, saying: "I consider myself from this day on as the elected president."

Government spokesman and Communications Minister Lambert Mende on Saturday slammed Tshisekedi's statement as an "infraction of the law" and an "attack on the constitution".

"It's an irresponsible act that violates the laws of the republic," he said, adding that "the public prosecutor has the authority to take the matter to court."

Exacerbating the volatile atmosphere, national police chief Charles Bisengimana said security forces had fatally shot three looters and a woman had been killed by a stray bullet when violent protests and looting broke out in parts of the capital Friday and Saturday after the result announcement.

UN broadcaster Radio Okapi said six people had died in the unrest.

After Kabila's win was declared, protesters in Kinshasa set cars and tyres alight and threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas and shots fired in the air.



A heavy security force presence, including police, presidential guards and 20,000 soldiers on standby at military bases, put down the initial protests.

But sporadic unrest erupted again Saturday despite heavy patrols by police and soldiers, some toting rocket-propelled grenades, who fired shots in the air to disperse groups of people.

In Limete, the eastern neighbourhood where Tshisekedi has his party headquarters, witnesses told AFP that some of the veteran opposition leader's supporters, whom he calls "fighters", had been seen carrying AK-47s.

Bisengimana said a policeman had been killed in the area Thursday by "armed militants".

The police chief also insisted his officers had not opened fire on demonstrators.

"The people we had to confront were looters and thieves. We didn't deal with any political protests," he said.

Two of the looters were caught stealing from a shop, while the third was trying to break into the residence of the election commission's vice president, he said.

"The situation is totally under control," he added. "The hostile protests have been put down."

Some residents accused police of robbing them, a complaint often heard in recent days.

"The government told us to go about our work peacefully. But then how can they loot us like that?" said a bread vendor who claimed officers had stolen from him.

There were no reports of major violence in Lubumbashi, the restive capital of the southeastern mining province of Katanga, which had seen campaign clashes between rival partisans and a pair of deadly rebel attacks on voting day.

Analysts have warned that the elections, just the second since back-to-back wars from 1996 to 2003, risk unleashing new conflict in the vast central African country.

The campaign was marred by bloodshed that according to Human Rights Watch left at least 18 civilians dead, most shot by Kabila's presidential guard.

Tshisekedi has rejected taking his election grievances to the supreme court, raising fears the battle could be fought out on the streets.

The court is charged with hearing election disputes and declaring the definitive winner on December 17, but there are concerns about its independence after it was expanded from seven to 27 members at the start of the election campaign.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon added his voice Saturday to calls for calm that had already poured in from the European Union, the United States, Britain, France and former colonial power Belgium.

His office said he "calls for any differences regarding the provisional results of the polls to be resolved peacefully through available legal and mediation mechanisms."

Tshisekedi had made veiled threats of violence after then first results were released showing Kabila in the lead, but after unrest broke out he appealed for calm.

He asked for international intervention to "find a solution to this problem (and) take all possible measures so that the blood of the Congolese people is not spilled again."

International monitors have criticised the election commission for a lack of transparency, and said the vote was marred by chaos at polling stations, voters being turned away and incidents of ballot box stuffing.

AFP