Congo Election Results Postponed, Says Official

Corneille Nangaa, head of the electoral commission, told The Associated Press that the results of the Dec. 30 election will not be made public Sunday as expected. He said the official electoral commission will confirm the delay later Sunday.

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The delay is the latest in a string of setbacks to find a successor to President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo since his father was assassinated in 2001.

"It will not be possible to announce the results tomorrow," Nangaa said.

A CENI spokesman later said that the commission was holding a meeting on Sunday to decide when they will be announced.

Worried that disputes and delays could spark the kind of violence seen after the 2006 and 2011 elections, the United Nations Security Council met on Friday to discuss how to react, but was unable to reach an agreement, according to an internal report seen by Reuters.

The United States condemned a lack of transparency in the contest, while China, a major investor, lauded the process.

The US has threatened to impose sanctions against those who undermine the election process and has deployed troops to Gabon in case its citizens need rescuing from any violence, according to Reuters.

According to AP, the Catholic Church, an influential voice in the heavily Catholic nation, said that data reported by its 40,000 election observers deployed in polling stations show a clear winner. The church urged the electoral commission to announce accurate results.

The government has already cut internet access across the Central African country to prevent any speculation on social media about who might have won the election.