Run-off in Congo presidential polls: 5 killed

21 August 2006, 18:00 PM

By Afp, Kinshasa

Incumbent Joseph Kabila easily topped the poll in the presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo but fell short of an outright majority and will face a run-off against Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, the independent electoral commission (CEI) said.

Kabila won 44.81 percent of the vote in the war-ravaged central African nation, while Bemba, a former rebel leader, collected 20.03 percent, CEI president Apollinaire Malu Malu announced late Sunday on national television.

The announcement came as gunfire claimed the lives of five in the centre of the capital Kinshasa late Sunday, according to a toll compiled from police, military and UN sources.