The second round of voting for a new president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), if necessary, would be held on October 29, a top election official said yesterday.

 

On Sunday, DRC held its first democratic presidential and parliamentary elections in the past four decades.

 

Preliminary results of Sunday's voting would come out no later than August 20, and the Supreme Court would announce the final results by August 31, said Apollinaire Malu Malu, the chairman of the independent electoral committee.

 

If no candidate secured outright victory in the first round of voting, a second round would be held along with the provincial parliamentary elections, he said.

 

If a candidate garnered enough votes in the first round, he or she would be sworn in on September 10, he said, but adding that the inauguration ceremony would be postponed to December 10 if a second round had to be held.

 

A candidate has to net over half of the ballots to win the presidency.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2006)