The Democratic Republic of Congo will not cancel the results of last week's presidential election despite repeated calls from the opposition for a full re-run of the disputed vote.
Results issued from the 20 December poll show President Felix Tshisekedi with a commanding lead over his opponents.
Mounting tensions over the election threaten to further destabilise the DRC, which is already grappling with a security crisis in the east.
The region is home to some of the world's largest productions of cobalt, and other industrial minerals and metals.
Police forcibly broke up a banned march on Wednesday in the capital Kinshasa by people protesting against the manner in which the presidential and legislative elections were conducted.
The opposition has alleged widespread irregularities and fraud. The national election commission (CENI) denies this.
Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said the opposition should wait until full results are published, and challenge them in the courts if necessary.
"Since they started the match, they should wait until the end of the match. That way they can see how to contest the results," he told reporters.
#Élections en RDC :le ministre des Médias Patrick Muyaya a conféré jeudi avec les représentants de la presse internationale, assurant aux journalistes des médias étrangers un accès libre aux informations et une protection renforcée pour leur permettre de bien assurer la… pic.twitter.com/E65bt0yaRG
— acpcongo.com (@acprdc_Officiel) December 28, 2023
Opposition anger
The team of Moise Katumbi, one of Tshisekedi's main challengers, has ruled out using legal channels to contest the results, arguing that state institutions are committed to tipping the vote in the president's favour.
His camp says the election, which was extended over several days due to bureaucratic disarray, should be annulled. Other opposition parties have called for a re-run.
Church leaders also highlighted irregularities during the vote "likely to affect the integrity of the results ... in certain places".
Muyaya said the government was committed to a fair and transparent election process and dismissed Katumbi's threat to hold further protests across the country.
"The contesting of results does not take place in the streets. And we as a government will take steps to ensure that public order is maintained," he said.
The CENI is due to release further provisional presidential results ahead of a 31 December deadline.
(with newswires)
