Congo opposition, ruling coalition both claim to have won chaotic election

Congo's opposition said on Monday it expected one of its candidates to win the presidential election based on early vote tallies, but the ruling coalition said it was confident its candidate had won the chaotic contest.

The competing claims followed a disorderly election day on Sunday in which many Congolese were unable to vote due to an Ebola outbreak, conflict and logistical problems.

After unofficial tallies started to circulate on socialmedia on Monday, mobile internet connections in the capitalKinshasa and other cities slowed down or cut out entirely,residents said, in a possible move by authorities to stop theinformation from circulating.

Government officials could not be immediately reached forcomment. Authorities have cut the internet in the past, saying they sought to stop rumours from spreading during protests.

The vote is meant to choose a successor to outgoing President Joseph Kabila after 18 years in power and could lead to the vast central African country's first ever democratic transition.

Any disputed outcome could lead to a repeat of the violence that followed the 2006 and 2011 elections and a wider security breakdown, particularly along Congo's borders with Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, where dozens of armed militia are active.

Competing claims

Vital Kamerhe, the campaign manager to opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi, said early counting showed Tshisekedi and the other main opposition candidate Martin Fayulu neck-and-neck in the lead, both with over 40 per cent of the vote.

He said the ruling coalition candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who is backed by Kabila, had only about 13 per cent, although a significant part of the vote remained to be tabulated.

The election is a first-past-the-post system with no run-off.

Opposition officials complained of widespreadirregularities, including several instances of what they saidwas outright fraud in Shadary's favour.

According to a Western diplomat, speaking on condition ofanonymity, nearly half of polling places opened late, 30 per centencountered problems due to malfunctioning voting machines orabsent voter rolls, and 10 to 15 per cent were located in prohibitedzones like police posts or private residences.

Nehemie Mwilanya, Kabila's chief of staff and a member of Shadary's campaign, told a news conference on Monday morning that he was confident Shadary had won, although he did not provide specific figures.

"For us, victory is certain," Mwilanya said.

Fayulu's camp has not yet provided specific numbers but Fayulu said late on Sunday that Shadary's camp was "dreaming" if it thought it was going to win.

Fraud allegations

The most recent opinion poll before the election, released by New York University's Congo Research Group on Friday, showed Fayulu, a former Exxon Mobil manager, leading the race on 47 per cent.

Tshisekedi had 24 per cent and Shadary 19 per cent.

The first partial results are expected from the national electoral commission (CENI) on Tuesday.

Election day was mostly peaceful despite several violent incidents, including an altercation at a polling place in eastern Congo in which at least three people were killed.

More than 1.2 million Congolese were also unable to vote in three opposition strongholds, where the CENI canceled the poll last week, citing an ongoing Ebola outbreak and ethnic violence.

However, in the Ebola hotspot of Beni, an opposition stronghold, residents staged a mock presidential election to show the authorities a decision to postpone the vote there due to health fears was unfounded.