One Candidate Clearly Won DRC Election, Catholic Church Says

Officials of Congo's National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) count cast ballots at a polling station in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec. 30, 2018.

Democratic Republic of Congo's Catholic bishops conference (CENCO) said on Thursday that results from Sunday's presidential election in its possession show that one candidate has clearly won, but did not say which one.

Donatien Nshole, the CENCO secretary-general, in a press conference also called on the national electoral commission to publish accurate results. The commission says it will publish complete provisional results on Sunday at the earliest.

More than a third of polling stations in the Dec. 30 election were missing voting materials when polls opened, according to a CENCO report on Thursday which outlined various shortfalls in the election's organization.