THE Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was Thursday named the provisional winner of a long-awaited presidential poll paving the way for the crisis-hit country’s first transfer of power in 18 years.

Repeated delays in holding the election sparked deadly violence in the vast and poor nation, but Tshisekedi struck a conciliatory tone after his victory, urging the public to view long-term leader Joseph Kabila as a “partner in democratic change.”

Runner-up candidate Martin Fayulu denounced the interim results as an “electoral coup.”

“These results have nothing to do with the truth at the ballot box,” Fayulu told Radio France International.

Mineral-rich DRC has been in the grip of a two-year crisis over the succession of Kabila, who announced last year he would finally step down after nearly two decades in power.

Burdened by a history of bloodshed, DRC has never had a peaceful handover of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

“Having gained ... 38.57 percent of the vote, Felix Tshisekedi is provisionally declared the elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Corneille Nangaa, head of the Independent National Election Commission (CENI).

Shouts of joy erupted at the commission’s offices as the results were announced early Thursday morning, AFP journalists reported.

“I pay tribute to President Joseph Kabila and today we should no longer see him as an adversary, but rather, a partner in democratic change in our country,” Tshisekedi told a crowd of supporters at the headquarters of his UDPS party.

The candidate Kabila hand-picked to succeed him, loyalist former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, came third in the poll with 23.8 percent of the vote.

(SD-Agencies)